Drive Me Crazy
by LadyYuina
Summary: -COMPLETE- Kenshin is a dad with two bratty kids. Kaoru is his love interest. His kids dislike her and causes her endless trouble. Can she put up with it or will she snap under the pressure of it all? And will she be able to sway them to like her?
1. Chp 1: You Got Laid: Kamiya Kaoru PART 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: If you all thought the two bratty kids were Ayame and Suzume you are all mistaken. I can't do that two them - they're too sweet and innocent! Rest assured that they will appear in this story but not as Kenni's children. I'm a little nervous about this fic . . . Please review, I'd appreciate it! Only reviews will tell if this story shall continue or not . . .

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 1: You Got Laid: Kamiya Kaoru

By: LadyYuina

Kaoru sighed submissively as her boss exited her office . . . she apparently knew that she was getting laid off. How depressing. A bright, white box was placed on her mahogany colored desk to be filled with her belongings. She had worked here for a year now - but it didn't seem like she made the cut.

Her boss had told her, "someone with much more experience in this field of work shall take over. Rest easy; I'm not saying you're bad or anything but I can't take any chances to pass up on a person of this caliber."

"May I ask who this person might be?" Her boss cleared his throat; she waited . . . and waited . . . and waited . . . She started to worry that he wasn't going to answer her.

Clearing his throat once again, he replied, "Shinomori Aoshi."

"What!" Kaoru was on the verge of hysteria. "How could he take my spot!"

"Simply put - he's better . . . I mean more skilled in this profession than you are."

Shinomori Aoshi! He of all the people that could have filled the space for me had to be him! I used to compete with him way back in high school - he knowingly won most of our competitions but I thought this whole charade was over when we graduated from college . . . but I guess it isn't over just yet. Damn that insufferable man! I can see his smirking face now, those prideful ice blue eyes staring me down.

"I'm sorry to do this Miss Kamiya but you aren't as cut out as you think you are," her boss told her.

"Are you trying to belittle me even though you mentioned earlier that I was a very capable person?" Kaoru flamed.

"Not in the least!" Kaoru wanted to shout at him, 'liar!' but didn't see the point of it. Her boss let out a slow, deep chuckle. "Anyways, here is the box that I've brought for you. You can place your belongings inside. Without further ado, I bid thee farewell."

"Trying to sound poetic for the last line?" Kaoru asked him, slightly fuming but it either went unnoticed or it was completely ignored.

Laughing, he said, "perhaps, thy fair maiden. May luck be bestowed upon thee in your near future." He opened the door to her office, waved, and shut the door behind him.

That was how her career went down the drain . . . Her dream of being a businesswoman was ending . . . It was pathetic, really.

With slow movements Kaoru placed all her pencils, pens, stapler, paperclips, and manila folders into the white box. Hell, she even placed her contact cards inside for safe keeping! It was really too bad that she had to leave . . . she really liked this job. If only Aoshi never came along - he was ruining her life whether he knew it or not.

Feet as heavy as lead Kaoru picked up her box and made her way out of the office. She was going to miss the smell of it. In fact, she was going to miss the whole building! Taking in a deep breath of the atmosphere inside she turned on her heels to look at everyone before stepping even an inch out of the dark windowed sliding doors.

Kaoru broke down when she started her car. Rather than speed off into the road in an emotional state of despair she sat in her car seat crying. If she wanted to die she'd gladly go into the streets and drive but that wasn't the case.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Kaoru slammed on her car horn several times; emitting a shrill, annoying sound that was unpleasant to one's ears. "Why the hell did it have to end this way! What am I gonna do now? I'm jobless!" She slammed down on the car horn some more for good anger release. "Maybe I should move back in with my mom - no, that'd never work. She's too bossy. How about my cousin's?"

Her monologue ended when there was soft, gentle rapping on her car window. Bleary-eyed, she looked out her window to see a red-headed man peeking in on her. The first thing she noticed about him was scar but other than that she didn't really care about his appearance too much at the moment. She rolled down her window. Yup, that's right folks, her car didn't come with automatic ones with just the push of a button. Anyhow, she couldn't expect too much from an old car but it was definitely dependable.

"Miss-"

"It's Kaoru!" she snapped. The man before her sweat dropped. She couldn't really blame him for being cautious after her initial shriek of identification. If her eyes didn't deceive her she thought the red-head looked rather cute - but like before, she was too mad to care.

"Uh . . . Miss Kaoru, are you okay?" The red-haired man shifted his weight from one leg to the other as he waited for a response.

"What does it look like?"

"Miss-"

"Waaauuuhhhh!" Kaoru was wailing now. A full grown woman crying in front of a full grown man; they almost looked like children. What could be more embarrassing to Kaoru?

Not knowing what to do the man said, "will you be all right by yourself because I need to go."

"Don't leave me!" Without thinking Kaoru grabbed a hold of the man's tie - yanking him roughly forward towards the car.

"Uuuaahhhh!" The red-headed man would have had his face slammed into the side if he didn't raise his hands up to prevent it.

"What's your name?" Kaoru asked, demandingly.

"Uh . . . Miss, I really-"

"Answer me, dammit!" The man's eyes widened considerably. This woman known as Kaoru was starting to scare him. The anger in the woman's eyes clearly told him not to disobey her.

"Himura . . . Kenshin. There, I said it."

Kaoru loosened her hold on Kenshin's tie but she didn't let go. Kenshin gulped and looked around the parking lot - some of the employees that worked in the building were staring at them. They were standing outside since it was their break. In this predicament he didn't know what to do . . .

Chapter 1: END


	2. Chp 2: You Got Laid: Kamiya Kaoru PART 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: OOCness is present in the characters and it always will be for this story. I found it hard to stick to Aoshi as being a cold bastard all the time. He gets to be mean sometimes too! And Kaoru is a somewhat vengeful bitch . . . she can sure hold a grudge! P Sorry about the language. And please review, they really do motivate me!

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 2: You Got Laid: Kamiya Kaoru (PART II)

By: LadyYuina

Kenshin's gaze reverted back to the crying woman before him when she yanked him suddenly forward again. Their noses were almost touching and Kenshin made sure he kept his distance as the woman ranted.

"This isn't fair! I get laid off because of him! You know this is bullshit, right?" She waited for Kenshin to agree; he gingerly nodded - not really catching her drift. "I've been working here for a year - he . . . Aaaggghhhhh, to hell where he worked before but I've been here longer! I probably love this job more than he'll ever will! Why don't he just fuck off and work someplace else!"

Realization dawned on the red-head then. Shinomori Aoshi had told him that he was getting a new job because the boss of a business company wanted him. He didn't tell him that someone got laid off to provide space for him though.

Looking at his watch, Kenshin noted, "I really need to go - Aoshi is waiting for me . . ."

"Aoshi? You know him?"

"Uh, um . . . Did I say Aoshi? I meant Aoki, sorry for the slip-up," Kenshin lied.

"No, you said Aoshi, didn't you?" Kaoru narrowed her eyes. Kenshin frantically looked at the employees that were stationed outside again - they were giving him curious gestures. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Kenshin's head snapped back in her direction, startled.

Untying his tie he told her she could have it. It was red in color with blue stripes lining it. It was his favorite since his kids gave it to him for his birthday but he had to let it go or the woman would have never released him from her vengeful clutches. Not bothering to look at Kaoru's reaction he dashed off inside the building. The employers outside watched him as he did so.

Nearing the front desk Kenshin slowed his pace and neatly fixed his shirt collar. "May I help you?" the woman at the front desk asked. As Kenshin requested for Aoshi she instructed for him go to the third floor, room 401. He nodded in understanding and thanked her before he went along his way.

* * *

Out in the parking lot with her engine still on Kaoru looked down at the tie that she was ungraciously offered. She hadn't wanted it - the man gave it to get to rid himself of her presence. How rude! She knew she went a little overboard; hell, she probably scared the man half to death with her emotional outburst. 

"Heh, he was a total stranger too. I shouldn't have done that to him," Kaoru said regretfully now that she was calmer. "Perhaps I should return this to him . . . After all, I don't want to keep it. But - if I go in there I might run into Aoshi . . ."

Turning off her car's engine Kaoru exited her car. Collecting her bearings she made an effort to walk back to the office building. The workers outside that recognized her greeted her happily, unaware of her circumstance but they'd find out soon enough . . .

Without going to the front desk Kaoru went straight for the elevator but backed out at the last second. Taking the stairs would be more time consuming - she could get a little workout too! As if . . . Kaoru could see the red-headed man and Aoshi chatting amicably as she came around the corner to her ex-office. Her hold on Kenshin's tie tightened.

Calm down your nerves girl, I'm just returning this back to the man. And . . . and I think he deserves and apology.

Both gentlemen halted their conversation and stared at the door when they heard soft knocking. Kaoru heard Aoshi say, "come in." She obeyed. What she saw didn't shock her - Aoshi had a few boxes that littered the floor; it looked as if he were unpacking still. It was obvious that he had more belongings to show off than she did.

"Do you need something?" she heard Kenshin say, guardedly.

"I . . ." She locked gazes with Aoshi for a moment before looking at the red-head. Aoshi's face had been masked with the look of a smug bastard and Kaoru wanted to do him in. A hard punch to the face! "I wanted to return this." She stuck out her arm that contained the tie. He took it from her happily.

"Thank you."

"And I want to say that I'm sorry for what happened outside." Aoshi quirked an eyebrow up but she ignored him. She couldn't help but blush when she stared at Kenshin squarely in the face. He was extremely attractive despite the cross scar be bore that marred his self image. It wasn't too bad though Kaoru had to admit. The scar did nicely as a chick magnet feature that some girls liked in men. Kaoru didn't have long to oogle over the man when Aoshi spoke up.

"Is that all, Kamiya?" he asked, snidely.

Kaoru huffed but didn't utter a word. She sourly crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at her destined rival . . . for life? No . . . fucking . . . way . . . Kenshin looked from one to the other - not understanding the situation.

When neither spoke, Kenshin interrupted their staring contest. "Should I leave the room for you two to-"

"That will not be necessary. You are fine where you are, Kenshin." Turning his gaze upon Kaoru once more, he said, "Kamiya, how long as it been since I've last seen you?"

"Let me see . . ." Kaoru stared up at the ceiling for emphasis as if she was counting for a really long time. "I'd say-"

"Roughly two years," Aoshi interjected.

"I could've answered that," Kaoru countered. "Besides . . . I was hoping I'd never run into you again but it looks like fate brought us back together.

"Indeed."

Out on the sidelines, Kenshin watched the two converse with interest. Aoshi had mentioned about a girl he had competed with a lot in high school and college but he never mentioned her name. He hadn't bothered to ask either; it didn't matter - he now knew who she was. Kamiya Kaoru.

"You always manage to tick me off, one way or another," Kaoru informed him. Her blue eyes were emblazoned like the flames of hell while Aoshi's remained captiously cold in appearance.

"You haven't changed one bit."

"As of you." Kaoru sized him up for good measure. "Although your demeanor seems much more dull and cold in comparison from before."

Kenshin looked at the clock - it was almost 2:30 pm, he had to go pick up his kids from school soon. In the meantime he continued to watch Aoshi and Kaoru; it'd seem rude to walk out on them so he waited patiently. He hoped their bickering would end soon so he could go, his kids were counting on him . . .

Chapter 2: END


	3. Chp 3: Storm Brewing Inside and Out

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Thank you for reviewing! And I'd just like to note that chapter four and up will be somewhat longer so it'll take me longer to update having to juggle with other stories also. Anyways, enjoy! Please do review! Thank you!

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 3: Storm Brewing Inside and Out

By: LadyYuina

It was well past 3:00 pm when Kaoru and Aoshi ended their mock-like conversation. Kenshin bid Aoshi goodbye as he made his way towards the office door to go out. Kaoru followed him. He stopped and turned to face her once he got out of the building.

"Why are you following me?" he asked, violet eyes watching her carefully.

"I have no place to go to; can I live with you?" Kaoru laughed when she saw Kenshin's expression. "Just kidding!"

Annoyed by her behavior Kenshin faced forward while he quickly walked to the parking lot. Kaoru, for some odd reason kept following him like a loyal pet dog.

"Where are you headed?"

Kenshin sighed. His business was not this woman's in the slightest - he didn't have to tell her if he didn't want to. "I'm sorry but if you need a ride it isn't going to be from me. Besides, your car looks fine." Getting into his own car he started the engine and drove off. Kaoru watched him go.

When Kenshin made it to the school he could see his two sons Naoto and Ietsuna standing by the front gate. They both looked annoyed - or, rather pissed off.

"Daddy, you're late," Ietsuna whined, being the younger one of the two siblings. He crossed his arms and pouted. Naoto did the same.

"I'm sorry kids, daddy got held up at work helping a friend," he explained.

"Aoshi?" Naoto asked. Since he was a year older than Ietsuna he seemed to be more reasonable and understanding.

"Yes, Aoshi. I had to help him unpack - he has quite a bit of stuff."

"I see." Kenshin smiled at Naoto. He was grateful that at least one of his kids were understanding. Not always but nonetheless.

Ietsuna hopped into the backseat while Naoto got in the front seat beside his father. Once they were seat belted down Kenshin sped off down the driveway heading towards home.

* * *

Kaoru drove over to her friend's house. Before exiting her car she looked up at the sky momentarily - from the looks of it, it looked like it was going to rain. The sky was an ominous, dark-gray color. Even the air smelled kind of moist. A downpour was definitely coming.

The doorbell rang several times before someone finally answered. A petite girl with seemingly large bottle green eyes popped her head out. Her long black braid trailed behind her head like a rope that was connected to an object.

"Kaoru, hi! I wasn't expecting any visitors but please do come in!" she greeted warmly.

"Thanks, Misao." The difference in temperature didn't go unnoticed. Kaoru relaxed as nice warm air greeted her compared to the frosty chill outside.

"You look kind of down - did something happen at work?" her perky friend asked. Kaoru nodded stiffly. Misao's expression changed from a 'I'm so happy' to 'Do you want to tell me about it?'

Words flowed from Kaoru's mouth now that she was allowed to speak. "Of all the people that can replace me it had to be Shinomori Aoshi."

"Aoshi?" Misao squealed. Her eyes shone brightly with delight.

"Gee . . . whose side are you on anyway? Mine or his?" Kaoru asked accusingly.

"He's cute and all but I'm your friend so I'm on your side."

"Really?" Kaoru spat sarcastically.

"Pinky swear?" Misao held out her small pinky for her friend to grab a hold of with hers. Kaoru laughed and swatted the girl's hand away. "What? You don't want to do the pinky swear anymore?"

"When we were younger, yeah, but we're too old now, Misao. I'm twenty-four!"

"So? I'm twenty-one. That doesn't make that much of a difference."

Shaking her head, Kaoru said, "you're hopeless!"

"How about hopelessly in love?" Misao changed the subject.

"In love? With who?" Kaoru nailed her friend with words, forcing her to answer. But before Misao could even say anything though Kaoru looked crestfallen - she knew who she was in love with. It wasn't hard to guess.

"Aoshi . . ."

"You shouldn't call it love - it's more like infatuation. You hardly know the man!"

"I was always around you when you competed with him." Misao compensated. "One year of high school anyway . . ."

"Don't even remind me," Kaoru groaned. "I'm already down in the dumps - don't make me sink a good six more feet under."

"Um . . . Since you don't have the money to pay for your rent - wanna move in with me?"

Kaoru contemplated the thought but shook her head at the idea. "I don't want to burden you with my presence . . . I'll move in with my cousins."

"Are you sure they won't mind?"

"No - because they'd love for me to help watch over Suzume and Ayame." Kaoru smiled warmly at the thought of embracing the small bundles of joy again - she hadn't seen them in months. "Saitou dumps his kids on Okita and Soujirou all the time when he and his wife go out! I bet they need a break from all the nanny jobs they've had to go through. Let me use your phone - I'll call them right now."

Misao handed her brightly colored wireless phone to Kaoru. With calculated purpose she dialed up her cousins' phone number. Kaoru found herself drumming her fingers on the coffee table in the living room - it was a habit she developed while working in the business industry. She disgustedly stopped her drumming to fiddle around with her dress skirt instead.

"Hello?" Soujirou answered the phone. Kaoru could hear Ayame's voice in the background. "Excuse me -Ayame, stop that! Your daddy would be mad if you broke it!"

Kaoru stifled a laugh and waited. When Soujirou got back to her he politely asked who she was.

"It's me, Kaoru!" A smile spread across her lips when she could hear Ayame in the background again. This time she was saying her name.

"Hold still Ayame! Uh, sorry Kaoru, Ayame suddenly went into hyper mode! I think it's because she heard your voice through the phone." Kaoru laughed.

"I need to ask a favor of you."

"Sure, what is it?" Kaoru could still hear Ayame's voice - she was now begging for Soujirou to let her talk to her.

"I'm moving in with you guys . . . is that okay?" Soujirou went silent for a moment save for the little girl's whining on the other end. "Soujirou?"

"I just asked Okita and his parents about it - they said they'd love to have you as a part of the family."

Kaoru sighed in relief. "Thanks, I really appreciate Okita and his family's kindness."

"Okita would like to have a word with you. I'm handing the phone over to him, take care!" Kaoru could hear a soft thud - it sounded like Soujirou had placed a phone down on something hard. It was probably a table or something of the sort.

"Hello?"

"Soushi, Okita Soushi?"

"Hi, Kaoru. Since you're moving in with us I was wondering why. I hate to be nosy but this is an issue that cannot be ignored. My parents would like to know also."

"Heh . . . I've lost my job - I can't pay for the rent. Guess who replaced me?"

"Shishio?"

"No - what made you think it was Shishio?" Kaoru wrinkled up her face. "Shishio has no interest in being a business employee anyway . . . he'd be more interested of being a boss of one."

"If it's not Shishio then is it Aoshi?"

"Bingo!"

"Wow . . . I'm sorry to hear that. Um, please come over here whenever you're ready, we'll prepare a warm welcome party."

"Okay, thanks Okita."

"No problem."

"Bye."

"Bye. Hope to see soon." The line went dead on the other end. Tears welled up in Kaoru's eyes as she hung up on her end.

Misao placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything will be all right, Kaoru. Hang in there."

The soft pattering of raindrops could be heard hitting the living room windows. The gloomy sky brought out the worst in someone. That certain someone was Kaoru . . . she was miserable but perseverance will weather through the storm? Perhaps . . .

Chapter 3: END


	4. Chp 4: Welcome! PART 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad that some people are still in tune with my story. Oh, ya . . . I forgot to mention this in the other chapter when they appeared, but Naoto and Ietsuna are my own OCs . . . With that much said, here is the next chapter. Enjoy! And please do review, they motivate me to go on! (And Okita/Soujirou fans who dislike homo's please do not bash me . . .)

_ Text like this are flashbacks _

Characters so far: (Age included)

1.Himura Kenshin : 28  
2.Himura Naoto: 9  
3.Himura Ietsuna: 8  
4.Kamiya Kaoru: 24  
5.Makimachi Misao : 21  
6.Shinomori Aoshi: 26  
7.Okita Soushi: 24  
8.Seta Soujirou: 24 (Is this supposed to be the other way around . . .?)  
9.Okita Saitou: 32 (Doesn't sound right but oh well . . .)  
10.Okita Suzume: 3  
11.Okita Ayame: 4

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 4: Welcome! (Part 1)

By: LadyYuina

Kenshin woke up with a start when Ietsuna pounced on him while he was sleeping. Rubbing at his eyes sleepily he looked over at his son who had seated himself beside him. He still donned his pajamas but his face looked properly refreshed.

"You promised!" Ietsuna droned into his ears.

Kenshin moaned while a hand went to his head. He had a headache that felt like it had ruptured his entire brain. Even as his son spoke the words, they blurred and slurred through one ear and going out the next one.

"You promised! Come on, get out of bed!" Ietsuna started to pester his father by yanking on his arm. Getting irritated, Kenshin got up rather than yell at him. That incident from a year ago made him shudder at the thought - a verbal dispute broke out between them and he almost lost Ietsuna because of it. He didn't want to repeat that again . . .

"Go wait outside in the kitchen for me, okay?"

"Okay!"

Before Ietsuna fully made it out the bedroom door, Kenshin shouted, " wait, is Naoto ready?"

"Yeah. He got up before me - he's making breakfast too." He disappeared out the door before his father could question him further.

Ietsuna entered the kitchen to see his older brother standing on a stool stirring something in a pan. He was softly humming a tune that their foster mother had taught them a while ago. Ietsuna frowned - he didn't like to be reminded of her.

"Can you stop humming?"

The sky-blue haired kid turned around to face his sibling. Ietsuna laughed when he saw his brother's countenance - flour batter coated either side of his cheeks and chin. He even wondered if Naoto noticed the sticky goop.

"What's so funny?" Naoto asked, rather concerned over Ietsuna than himself. He didn't bother to look at his brother when he answered because he had to continue stirring the fish.

"You have batter all over your cheeks and chin. What did you do?"

"Oh . . . I guess I must have touched my face - I didn't notice anything." Ietsuna went to the sink to get a washcloth. He gently cleaned up Naoto's face for him. "Thanks." Ietsuna simply smiled.

Not long after, their father appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. His long red hair was tied back with a blue rubber band. It was a Saturday morning so he had on a white button down shirt with grey khaki pants to go with it. Nothing like the more formal wear that he normally adorned himself in for school.

"You did all this?" Kenshin asked, with incredibility as he looked down at the dining table.

"Yup. I'm making your favorite too! Fried fish!" Naoto cheerfully bantered. He received a heart-warming smile from his father.

Ietsuna stared down at his toes - he was feeling left out but didn't really bother to hint at it. Besides, he knew his father showered him with more attention than he did to Naoto anyway. There was nothing to be jealous about. So why did he feel left out?

"You're awfully young to be cooking dishes like this but since it seems like you can manage, I suppose there isn't any harm done." Kenshin moved to stand beside Naoto. "Here, I'll finish up. You and Ietsuna set the table."

"Um, okay." Naoto hopped off the stool as Kenshin pushed it to the side. Going around his father he picked it up to place it back in the bathroom. It was originally Ietsuna's stool for bathroom use but Naoto needed it this morning since he couldn't reach the stove top without it. When he came back his father and Ietsuna were already seated at the table - he didn't need to help set up the table after all. He sat down in a seat.

As they ate, Ietsuna struck up a conversation by asking, "daddy, where does your friend, Aoshi work now?"

"In an office in the Nishiman District."

"Is that far away from here?"

"Not too far - I can get there within ten minutes depending on traffic," Kenshin explained.

"Can we go visit his workplace one day?" Naoto asked eagerly. "I want to be just like Aoshi when I grow up!"

Kenshin considered that for a moment and slightly frowned. He remembered the conversation his icy friend and the raven haired youth were having. They didn't seem to be on friendly terms. She looked like a woman that could hold a definite grudge too! What if Naoto met someone like that? What kind of life would he lead? Aside from that -Aoshi was a bit of a prick he'd have to admit.

"You really want to be like him? I think he's kind of like a preck . . . pruck - is that how you say it, daddy?" Ietsuna asked.

Kenshin laughed. "Close enough. It's a prick."

"Pru - no, uh p-ri-ck . . . prick. Yeah, that's what I meant!" Ietsuna said with triumph. His father only laughed harder. Naoto made no comment as he stuffed his face with food.

The conversation ended. Dishes were cleaned. Kenshin, including his kids dressed up warmly for the chilly autumn weather - got in the car and headed towards Saitou's house.

* * *

Misao and Kaoru pulled as they struggled to lift Kaoru's bed upright. As much as Kaoru hated to do this she had to put her belongings in storage with the undying gratitude of her cousin Okita, paying the expense. At times, he was too kind for his own good. But that was what made him so loveable - perhaps that was what attracted Soujirou? 

"Lower it! Lower it!" Misao cried frantically, as she could feel Kaoru slacking off on her end.

"Oh, sorry! Did I crush your fingers!"

"No, but you came close to it!" Misao leaned against the white bedroom wall and let out a slow huff of breath. "I'm tired - let's take a break?"

"We can't stop yet! There is still much more to move!" Grabbing a hold of her friend's small hands, Kaoru pulled her leaning form forward off against the wall. Her friend didn't have a choice but to comply.

"Seriously Kaoru, I'm tired. Let's take a break." It was a demand this time instead of a suggestion. "Keep at it and you'll find yourself moving your own things without my help."

"Fine." Kaoru released her hold on Misao's hand which caused her to hit the wall with a thump. Kaoru became alarmed. "Are you okay?"

"Just a jolt of pain for 30 seconds. Nothing to worry about! But did you have to let go all of a sudden like that, you took me by surprise." She tugged at Kaoru's arm indicating that she wanted her friend to sit down beside her.

A moment of silence passed between the two as they listened to the ticking of the clock. Sunlight filtered in through from the bedroom window - at midday; Kaoru and Misao felt at ease. The raven haired woman would've dozed off if Misao didn't nudge her.

"Hey - do you think you'll miss this apartment?" Misao asked. It was an innocent question but Kaoru didn't want to hear it. Misao was only going to make her homesick in the long run. She had been living in this apartment ever since she was nineteen.

"Don't make it worse for me!" Kaoru wheedled. Misao gave her an apologetic look. She patted Kaoru on the shoulder.

"I was wondering - how come we don't have more friends?"

Kaoru lightly laughed. "You're really random at times."

"Hehe, I know."

"As for the answer about friends - we don't go searching for some, they come to us."

"Hmmm, right!" Misao stuck an arm up in the air as a cheer. "Ready to get back to work?"

"No, ten more minutes of rest, okay?"

"Look who's slacking odd now?" Misao teased.

"Shut up, Misao," Kaoru said jokingly, clamping a hand over her mouth. Misao wriggled away while giggling.

"Come on, lazy brat. Let's get back to work!"

Getting up, Misao and Kaoru carried on the redundant task of moving everything.

* * *

Seat belted down in the car, Kenshin started the engine and drove down the driveway. Naoto and Ietsuna chatted heedlessly until they arrived at the Okita residence. The home of the Okita's was breathtaking with its traditional styled designs. The drooping willow trees stooped outside the edges of the stony pathway brushed against Kenshin's shoulders lightly as he walked along with the children on the edge of the path. 

Out on the front porch was Mr. Okita, heavily adorned in traditional dress. When he spotted Naoto and Ietsuna he beckoned them over. They looked to their father for permission - when he shooed them with his hands they gleefully ran to the middle-aged man.

Kenshin smiled to himself and thought back to the day he first brought them home . . .

* * *

_As the two newcomers stood in the living room Kenshin politely excused himself and his wife. Steering her into the kitchen out of the children's hearing range, he said to her, "are you sure this is what you want?"_

"_I'm absolutely sure." Determined dark brown eyes clearly told Kenshin that she made up her mind. "Since we can't have more children - this is the only way . . . I really regret what I did."_

"_It's okay, though I always thought that was an unwise decision. But what has been done has gone by us. Don't dwell on the past too much."_

"_You're right . . ." She lead Kenshin back into the living room. The two blue-eyed youths looked at them nervously._

"_Make yourselves comfortable . . . Naoto and Ietsuna . . ." Kenshin watched the two children as they sat on the couch and looked around._

_Coming up behind him, his wife said, "they'll adjust to us in time." She squeezed his left shoulder to reassure him._

_Placing his own hand over hers, he said, "I hope so."_

* * *

Kenshin turned around when he felt someone tapping on his thigh. Looking down behind him he saw two little girls smiling up at him. He recognized them immediately - they were the students of Miss Chisai, who was only next door to him. 

"Mr. Himura, you came to our home!" Suzume squeaked. "You aren't our teacher so why are you here?"

"Don't kid around with your daddy's friend, you know why I'm here," Kenshin told the child.

"You should be our teacher!" Ayame exclaimed. "You are much more fun than Miss Chisai!"

"Suzume, Ayame, your mother is looking for you two. Go to her now." Kenshin and the two girls turned to see Saitou. He was wearing a white shirt with loose fitting jeans. Kenshin thought this was unusual attire for the man but he made no comment. He was also holding a cigarette in one hand while his other hand went inside his jeans' pocket. With a gesture of his head the two girls ran into the house. Soft clopping sounds could be heard as their feet met with the stony pathway.

"Hey, Saitou."

"Hey. Where are the brats? Didn't they come?" Saitou asked. Kenshin pointed towards the front porch. "I see."

"Does your mom still want more grandchildren?"

"Of course - even if we had ten kids she's still say that isn't enough! It makes me wonder why she only has two kids of her own but she wants a lot f grandchildren." Kenshin laughed. "Okita isn't helping much either - going homosexual like that . . . he should at least be bi. You know what I mean?"

Sidestepping the question, Kenshin said, "isn't the weather nice today?" Saitou squinted at him. "Uh . . . what?"

"You know - you suck at sidestepping or trying to change subjects."

"Hahaha . . . really?" Saitou nodded. "So you want me to answer your question?" Another nod from his friend affirmed it. "Okay, well, despite Okita's decision - as long as he's happy I'm fine with what he chose."

"So in context - you're saying no matter what he chooses as long as he is happy with what he did you'd side with him?" Saitou asked.

Kenshin scratched his head stupidly. "No, that's not what I meant. You're just mad that you have to provide your mother with all the grandchildren."

Saitou growled. "If it weren't about blood related ties only, then I'd suggest for them to adopt."

"I'm glad my family isn't as traditional as yours," Kenshin said, sighing with relief.

"If only we could trade spaces," Saitou muttered. Kenshin let out a hearty laugh.

Chapter 4: END


	5. Chp 5: Welcome! PART 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Thank you for reviewing! I'll explain why Kenshin and his wife can't have kids a lot later. I do plan to answer that question so please be patient . . . It'll eventually get out in the open. As for now, think whatever you like for the reason his wife can no longer have any kids. ; ) And as for actual child adoption files I have no idea what they are really like so I made up my own . . . And Pluto . . . what did you mean when they met? When who met?

Additional Characters: (Most of the people listed here will have minor roles or will appear in the near future)  
Takani Megumi: 25 (Yes, Megumi will have a minor role . . . that's too bad ; ;)  
Sekihara Tae: 30  
Okita Tokio: 30

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 5: Welcome! (PART II)

By: LadyYuina

While Kenshin and Saitou chatted Suzume and Ayame ran in circles around them with the family dog. He was a small black colored Cocker Spaniel with long furry ears. He panted and ran alongside Ayame.

Kenshin looked at it for a moment. "When did you guys get a dog?"

Putting out his cigarette, Saitou replied, "last week."

"I see, what did you guys decide to name it?"

"Mango."

Suzume ran up to Kenshin with the black furred dog. "Meet Mango, Mr. Himura. Isn't he cute?" The dog happily barked and struggled out of the little girl's restricting hold. "Mango!"

Before Kenshin knew it Mango had jumped up at him, knocking him over. It licked at his face with quick precision. Suzume and Ayame started laughing as Kenshin tried to get the hyperactive dog away from his face. Naoto and Ietsuna appeared on the scene.

"Daddy . . . what are you doing?" Naoto asked.

"It's a dog!" Ietsuna squealed excitedly. He rushed forward the snatch the dog away from Kenshin. As needy as he was he squeezed the dog lovingly which caused it to yelp in pain. In retaliation, the dog bit down on Ietsuna's arm - he released the Cocker Spaniel. Mango sped off in a run around the corner of the house.

"You hurt Mango!" Suzume accused angrily.

Ietsuna started to cry as his arm started to bleed. Kenshin came to his aid - trying to calm the boy down without being forceful.

"It hurts!" Ietsuna cried, ignoring Suzume's angry protests. Ayame and Naoto stood on the side, simply watching. Saitou had also went to tend to his youngest daughter.

"Ietsuna . . . this may hurt but I need you to press down on your arm, okay?" Ietsuna let his father guide his hand to his injured arm - placing it on the wound and squeezing around it. Ietsuna flinched but obeyed. "That's good, keep it that way. I'll go into the house to get some alcohol and bandages." Turning to Saitou, Kenshin added, "he's been checked for rabies, right?"

"Yeah, he's free of that stuff."

"Okay, good."

"Don't be gone for too long," Ietsuna whimpered feebly.

"No need to be worried. Naoto will be here with you while I'm gone." Kenshin beckoned Naoto over as he made his way into the house. Kenshin happened to bump into Soujirou who asked him what was wrong as he looked at his panic-stricken face.

"You need alcohol and bandages for your son? Megumi has a lot of those." Kenshin didn't notice Soujirou look behind him and then back again.

Kenshin's eyebrows raised. "Who's Megumi?"

"She's the Okita's new family doctor. Didn't you notice?" Soujirou asked. Kenshin shrugged. "Oh, wait . . . you couldn't have. She just came here the other day."

"What happened to Tae?"

"She had her baby so she decided to retire and go into the cooking business. She says it puts less strain on her." Soujirou looked thoughtful for a second before smiling brightly. "If you want to know, I can tell you what she named her baby."

"It's a girl, isn't it?" Kenshin asked. "And she named her Rina?"

"Yes! That's correct! How did you know?"

"She told me a while back that if it were a girl she'd name it Rina. And . . . I still need alcohol and bandages . . ."

"Don't worry, Megumi is already out there tending to your son."

"What? How?" Kenshin asked, unbelievingly. He went outside himself to check. As Soujirou had predicted, Megumi was busy wrapping Ietsuna's arm. He stopped crying but was sniffling softly.

When Naoto caught sight of Kenshin he called out for him. Ietsuna turned around too. Kenshin frowned when Ietsuna looked really guilty.

"Go apologize," Saitou said to Suzume.

Suzume pouted, "why should I? He was the one that hurt Mango."

Saitou turned his head away in annoyance - making sure his daughter didn't see it. Turning back to face her, he said, "Mango is our responsibility . . . just be courteous and apologize."

"I-"

"No excuses."

Begrudgingly, Suzume made her way towards Ietsuna. She stood before him - he looked nervously down at her. Though her face showed indifference, her eyes were blazing with anger - Ietsuna could see it. Stiffly, Suzume apologized and bowed. To her utmost surprise Ietsuna burst into tears and ran around the corner that Mango had gone.

"Ietsuna!" Kenshin started. He knew for a fact that anger was a problematic issue for Ietsuna alongside with abandonment.

* * *

"_Here are descriptions of the two brothers that you wanted to adopt." The woman by the name of Oigawa Mizuna handed Kenshin and his wife a manila folder. "Please read it over carefully and make your decision. You can take that folder home with you. Just to warn you - don't let the descriptions inside scare you off, there is always room and the willpower to change if you have the patience."_

"_Thank you, Ms. Oigawa. We'll make sure to do that."_

"_No problem. Good day."_

"_Good day." Mr. and Mrs. Himura said in unison._

_Kenshin and his love held hands as they made their way out of the adoption center to their car. His wife's strides were purposeful and unfettering. Kenshin was sure she wanted to do this, but he still wanted to question her._

"_If we adopt . . . will you love the child as much as Kenji? This child will not be of our own flesh and blood - will you still accept?" She nodded, her black bangs swaying with movement as she did so. "By your calm responses it worries me that you might regret them later."_

"_Why do you doubt me so much?" she asked. Her gentle brown eyes searched her husband's violet ones. "We decided on this together - I'll make sure we go through with it. I know you want more children but I can't give you any from me."_

"_Don't do something to please me if you don't want to go through with it," Kenshin told her._

_Angered, his wife spat, "listen to me Kenshin, I've made up my mind - stop trying to dissuade me!" She got into the passenger seat of the car and shut the door. Kenshin sighed and went to the other side._

_That night Kenshin looked through the descriptions alone since his wife went to bed early. It was oddly horrifying to learn things about the children that they wished to adopt._

_Name: Yamaguchi Ietsuna_

_Age: 6_

_Height: 3'8"_

_Weight: 66 lbs._

_Hair color: Light brown_

_Eye color: Blue_

_Description:_

_Is vulnerable to anger, abandonment - isolation. Has a long history of being extremely needy . . . Is easily frightened by strangers. Takes a long time to adjust to new surroundings; is a younger sibling of two. _

_Name: Yamaguchi Naoto_

_Age: 7_

_Height: 4'0"_

_Weight: 70 lbs._

_Hair color: Sky blue_

_Eye color: Blue_

_Description:_

_Slightly apprehensive of others. Is a bit more mature than most kids his age. Occasionally has emotional outbursts when he lets his feelings get to him. His need for his little brother is exceptionally high - never likes to be separated. Is the older sibling of two._

_Kenshin flipped the page. He didn't like the way the description was written; it made children sound like problematic, needy, and retarded children in a sense. He thought they should have said nice things about them but it was better to know the facts and what the child was like . . . A background check of where the children were born, birth certificate and mother and father's name were listed on the other side._

_Place of birth: Kanegawa Prefecture, Tokyo: Kadoka Hospital, 94756_

_Yamaguchi Ietsuna: March 16, 1924_

_Yamaguchi Naoto: July 3, 1923 _

_Birth mother: Hagase Mika_

_Birth father: Yamaguchi Eto_

_Kenshin flipped the page again. It now told him where they were found and abandoned. Date and time were listed too. The red-headed man frowned. The script was crisp and neat - written to the point of things._

_February 25th 1929, Yamaguchi Naoto and Yamaguchi Ietsuna were reported abandoned when a woman witnessed someone in a red sports car drop the children off and drive away. She notified it as abandonment when she checked outside - the children stood out in the freezing snow for an hour with no indication of anyone picking them up. She stated she brought them home and called the Family Crisis Hotline which in turn contacted us, Haruka's Children's Agency._

_Disgusted with what he read Kenshin shut the folder closed as he refused to read more. He thought it'd be better for the agency's child care provider to explain the rest. That night Kenshin has a disturbing dream . . . but it went forgotten._

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for my cousin's welcoming party? She's coming over later today," Okita said. "I bet you'd like her if you met her - she's a bit impulsive and how do you word this . . ." 

"Off-key," Soujirou interjected.

"Yeah, but I think you'll still like her."

"Thanks for the offer but I think we'll just go home. Ietsuna's had a hard day."

"Okay, see you later then. Please do come visit soon," Okita reminded him.

"I will. Goodbye."

Inside the car Kenshin would glance at his rearview mirror to look at his sleeping son. He had apparently been crying because when Kenshin managed to find him he was petting Mango, the Cocker Spaniel while repeating the words, "I'm sorry." To Kenshin's amusement the dog looked as if it forgave the boy because he lazily laid back as Ietsuna stroked him.

"Sorry for Ietsuna's behavior . . . I'll make sure something like that doesn't happen again," Naoto piped up, making Kenshin break his focus away from the top rearview mirror. "I should have stopped him when I had the chance."

"It's not your fault, Naoto. Don't burden yourself with others' problems. They'll only bring you down," Kenshin explained. He combed a hand through the boy's soft sky-blue hair. "You shouldn't act so mature all the time - before you know it you'll be a old man."

"Aoshi is my role - meddle - err, muddle? How do you say that one word?" Naoto didn't look at his father but he knew he wanted an answer.

"Model."

"Aoshi is my role - model - I want to be more like him. Even if you call him a prick."

Smiling, Kenshin said, " you can be like him but just leave the prick part out."

"I'll try."

* * *

"I really can't thank you enough, Soushi, Mr. and Mrs. Okita. Even though Saitou, Tokio and the others aren't here I give my thanks to them too." Kaoru bowed in gratitude over and over. Misao stood beside her and watched. 

"It is not a problem at all. Now you can help me and Soujirou watch Suzume and Ayame when their parents are busy," Okita said happily. Kaoru laughed and gave Misao a 'I told you so' look. The black haired youth simply shrugged.

"Come, come," Mrs. Okita urged. "We've prepared a banquet for your welcoming party!"

"That wasn't necessary," Kaoru said uneasily.

Misao's mouth was watering when she eyeballed the food that was placed out on the table. Everyone seemed to be milling around but as soon as Kaoru entered they each took a seat. Going from the left side of the table were Saitou, Tokio, Suzume and Ayame who squatted while attentively looking at the guests. On the right were Soujirou and Okita, the last two spots were reserved for Kaoru and Misao. Mr. and Mrs. Okita each sat on one end of the long table.

Kaoru felt like the luckiest person alive! Here she was, with food before her and a family that happily accepted her into their lives. But there were downfalls to this happy occasion . . .

Kaoru, for a fact, knew that she was living under the house of a very traditional family. As much of a modern girl as she was, she was going to be expected to dress in kimonos as long as she resided in their care. Also, her intrusion made her feel guilty. She didn't want to have to leech off her cousin and his parents forever!

Before eating, everyone chorused, "it's time to eat!"

While Kaoru was eating she'd sometimes imagine a piece of food as Aoshi's head. When that image came up she'd bite down on the food really hard and chew menacingly. Everyone noticed her odd behavior but said nothing of it except Ayame and Suzume.

"Kaoru, why are you eating your food like that?" Suzume asked.

"Are you mad? Do you not want to live with us?" Ayame added. "Suzume and I really like you so we want you to stay."

"That's no it girls. I'm . . . happy to be here . . ." Everyone noted the slight pause in her voice. It only made her tense when all eyes were trained on her - all eating had stopped in that relapse of time. "Don't stare at me like that! I am really happy to be here!" She smiled at them, showing her teeth as she did so.

"Kaoru, you have something stuck in between your teeth," Soujirou told her

"Shit!" Kaoru's hand instantly flew to her mouth due to the fact that she had something stuck in between her teeth and she had cursed in front of children.

"Shit? What does that mean?" Ayame asked. Her mother immediately shushed her.

"I'm sorry everyone. I think I'll go unpack. Thank you for the meal!" Kaoru could feel her cheeks flaming as she made her way down the corridor to her room.

She had definitely caused an uproar amongst her relatives. Can they accept her now as she was after what they had just witnessed? Or were they going to turn their backs on her and throw her out? Kaoru brooded over those two questions that floated around inside her head.

Decisions . . . to hell with it!

Chapter 5: END


	6. Chp 6: The Day After

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Thank you for reviewing! Here's an explanation for you, Pluto. Soujirou and Kaoru are not cousins, it's Okita and Kaoru, you got it mixed up.

Saitou, Soushi(Okita), and Kaoru are cousins. Saitou and Soushi(Okita) are brothers, if you paid attention to their last names I posted up in one of the previous chapters you would've noticed. Suzume and Ayame are Saitou's daughters and Tokio is his wife. Soujirou is Soushi's(Okita's) "lover" and he lives with Soushi(Okita) and his family.(I didn't mention that but I was going to . . . I guess I will now though . . .) I never said Soujirou and Kaoru were cousins, sorry if I confused you somewhere in the story but I thought readers would realize Soushi(Okita) is Kaoru's cousin because it was Soushi(Okita) that asked Kenshin if he wanted to meet his "cousin". (Kenshin is Saitou's friend so that's how he knows Soushi(Okita) and Soujirou too.) So sorry for the confusion! Please read on and leaving a review would be nice. Thank you!

Ooki means 'big' in Japanese . . .

Additional Characters:  
Amakusa Magdaria/Sayo: 19  
Amakusa Shougo: 25  
Sagara Sanosuke: 25

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 6: The Day After

By: LadyYuina

As morning crept up over the horizon Kaoru winced in annoyance when sunlight struck her in the face. It was only 5:00 am and the sun was already bugging her - as if it wanted her to get up. She simply flipped the other way around and went back to sleep.

Her happing didn't feel very long though when she felt a sticky, wet object lick her on the ear. Grunting, she pushed the revolting thing away - it barked. A dog? Kaoru's eyes flew open when she realized the dog had snuck underneath the covers.

"Eeeeeiiiiiihhhhhh!" The sound in its entirety was earsplitting. The dog yelped and went still. Kaoru stared at the lump beside her - panic-stricken. "It's going to eat me! Get it away from me! Yaaaahhhhh!"

"Kaoru?" Suzume and Ayame asked. "Have you seen Mango?"

"Mango?"

"Our Cocker Spaniel - I think he ran in here," Ayame stated.

Suzume eyed the lump for a moment before realizing it was Mango. "Mango is here! He's underneath the covers!"

Kaoru yanked the blanket up off her to see a frightened black bundle of fur trembling in fear beside her. I was scared over that thing! A puny dog? I thought it was something huge and . . . never mind . . .

"Mango. Come here," Suzume called. The black creature did not move but his ears perked up. "Come here, boy." Mango looked at Kaoru before it decided to heave itself up in a sitting position.

Kaoru smiled. How could something this small and sweet looking eat me? I shouldn't act solely on impulse so much - it always produces bad results. I wonder if I woke everyone up in the house? She looked to the clock to see that it was 7: 36 am. Good . . . They've probably all awake already by this hour.

A woman with long black hair strode into the room. "What was all the commotion about? I almost cut myself with a razor in the shower." She ceased her complaints when she saw Kaoru - half naked lying in a futon.

Sheepishly, Kaoru said, "uh . . . good morning."

"And who might you be?" the woman asked.

"She's Kaoru," Ayame said for her.

"She's living with us now," Suzume continued warmly. She picked Mango up when he trotted up to her - tail wagging all the way.

"Kaoru - I heard there was going to be a new family member by that name moving in. Hm, I guess its you."

"Who are you?" Kaoru asked, she was more demanding and straightforward sounding than the other raven haired woman. Nothing like the interrogation of a businesswoman . . . Ex-businesswoman . . .

"I'm Megumi. The Okita's family doctor."

"Huh?" Kaoru blinked several times. "I thought Tae was the family doctor?"

"She was . . . until she had her baby. After that, she decided to retire and run a restaurant that her sister left to her."

How come I didn't hear about this? Why didn't Tae tell me? When did she have her baby? What did she name it? Wait, why the hell am I asking questions silently? I should ask them out loud if I wish for answers to appear.

"May I ask what she named the baby?"

"Okita told me that's it's Rina."

"So it's a girl then . . . how cute!" Megumi including Ayame and Suzume gave her funny looks. "Uh, hehe, don't mind me. I'm a little funny in the head sometimes."

"Do you mean stupid?" Suzume asked.

"Waaahhhhh! When did you learn that word!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"That's what our daddy said. He said you seemed rather stupid," Ayame answered.

Kaoru hung her head low. So somebody already disapproves of me! Okita's brother no less . . . I wonder if Megumi feels the same way he does?

"Come on kiddos, let's go so she can get dressed." Megumi herded the girls out of the room and closed the door behind her. Kaoru watched the door for a moment before heading towards the small closet.

"Do I really stand out that much? I think they need to get a taste of what modern lifestyles are like!" Kaoru frowned when the only thing she saw in the closet was a simple yukata that was meant to be worn for the day. It was blue in color with white stripes lining the left shoulder width and the bottom portion of the material. "As I thought - they expect me to wear this. Every . . . day . . . damn . . ."

No one was in sight when Kaoru went into the kitchen. On the table was a bowl of steaming rice, pickled vegetables and a fried catfish. Kaoru suspected it was for her so she sat down at the table and started to eat. Not long after she heard someone behind her.

"Ahem."

A piece of fish meat was in her mouth when she turned around. "O-okita!"

"I see you're enjoying my breakfast!" he said with a laugh. Kaoru blushed a deep shade of pink. She felt as if her whole head was on fire. "It's okay, go ahead and eat it - you've already started. I'll have Soujirou prepare me something else."

Gulping down the piece of fish as fast as she could in her mouth, Kaoru squeaked, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to eat the food! I thought it was for me so-"

"It's all right, Kaoru. Soujirou can always prepare me something. In fact, the food that you are eating was prepared by him."

"How's the food, Kaoru?" Kaoru looked to the side to see Soujirou emerging from the corridor. She was so embarrassed. "Is it too salty or bland?"

"Not in the least! The fish is . . . very . . . tasty." Kaoru's ocean blue orbs looked from Okita to Soujirou. They were both smiling at her - she didn't know what to do or expect. "Did . . . I do something wrong? If it's about the food I am truly sorry."

"It's not a problem. I can always make more for Okita." Soujirou playfully poked him in the chest. Kaoru smiled and her cheeks sustained their normal pale color again. "By all means continue eating - Okita and I will be on our way. Come on, Ooki-chan." Okita laughed and wrapped a hand around his lover's waist.

Kaoru didn't start to eat again until they disappeared into the kitchen.

* * *

"Good afternoon! How was your morning?" Misao cheerfully asked, as she met up with her friend at a local mall. 

"It was just peachy . . ."

"Peachy? What happened?"

"Do I really need to go into detail over the events?" Misao nodded and egged her friend on to tell. Kaoru blew out a huff of breath before starting. "First . . . I thought a little black Cocker Spaniel dog was going to eat me. Next . . . I met the new family doctor, third, Saitou thinks I'm a moron and lastly, I ate Okita's breakfast . . ."

"That's quite a morning." Misao eyed a nearby ice cream shop. "How about I treat you to some ice cream? Would that make you feel better?"

"No."

"Huh? It always did the trick when we were younger."

"That's the point, Misao. When we were younger - people change you know. I'd rather go for some pie."

"You sound like a boring businesswoman, did that job get to your head?" Misao joked. Kaoru glared at her. "I was just kidding, besides it's still sweets at least. Your taste buds haven't changed much." Misao pulled out a wadded up twenty dollar bill. Kaoru looked at it greedily but she didn't let Misao catch her staring.

As Kaoru sat down to eat her pie, she told Misao, "I need to go job hunting." She placed her for down on her plate and scanned around the mall for 'we're hiring!' signs. Her eyes widened suddenly when she spotted a red-headed man but when he turned around she realized it wasn't the same guy she met on Friday.

"Job hunting - let's narrow that down. What type of job do you want besides business ones?" Misao asked.

"The only kind I want is business types."

Misao sighed. "Kaoru, stop being so constricted to one category. Think outside the box. If you have more choices you have a better chance of getting a job."

"So?"

"You're making it more difficult for yourself." Misao stuffed a forkful of pie into her mouth.

Misao was still chewing when she heard someone say, "excuse me, can we sit down here for a bit? There seems to be no other seats nearby."

Misao nodded and Kaoru merely shrugged. "Thank you." They tore their gaze off of the man when they spotted a frail looking girl standing behind him, coughing distressfully.

"Is she okay?" Kaoru asked.

The brown haired girl sat down as she continued to cough. "She's a little dizzy and her coughing has started up again but she'll manage."

"Are you sure?" Kaoru looked really concerned. "Would you like some water?" Before the man could even protest Kaoru had already jumped up off her seat and went to the counter of the pie shop. "A bottle of water please."

"Your friend is very nice - thank you," the girl spoke for the first time. Her voice was soft and lilting to the ear. She breathed in and out heavily as she clutched at her chest gently. Her long brown tresses fell around her shoulders as she bowed her head down.

"It's nothing really. It's always good to help others in need," Misao told her. "Um - perhaps I should introduce myself . . . I'm Misao and my friend over there is Kaoru."

"I'm - I'm Magdaria and this is my bug brother, Shougo. It's nice to meet you."

"Magdaria, that's a very unusual name but it has a nice sound to it when you say it. Are you two Christians?"

Magdaria nodded. When Kaoru came back with the water, Shougo's cell phone started to ring. Unclipping the lid away from the screen he answered it.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Sanosuke. Where are you guys? I just got here."

Looking at the name of the pie place, Shougo said into the phone, "Sally's Pie Place. It's right across from the shoe store."

"The one with a lot of black shoes?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, on my way."

Shougo hung up and looked at his sister. "That was Sanosuke, he's coming for us now."

Kaoru handed the bottle of water to the sickly girl. "Thank you." Opening the cap she took a sip. Relief washed over her burning lungs as the cool liquid soothed them.

"Kaoru, these people here are Magdaria and Shougo," Misao introduced them. "They already know your name, oh kind, fair maiden."

"Stop it!" Kaoru said as she lightly smacked her friend's arm. Magdaria watched then with insightful eyes.

"Magdaria! Shougo!" A tall man with spiky almond brown hair walked up to them. His eyes roved over Kaoru and Misao for a moment. "Made some new friends?"

"We-"

"You could say that," Misao interrupted. "We can become friends can't we?"

Magdaria blushed but she nodded anyway. Having girl friends again would be a nice thing. Since high school her only female friend had been Yumi but she was gone from her life now. It wouldn't hurt to get new ones.

"Yes, that's right - we can become friends."

Chapter 6: END


	7. Chp 7: You've Never Had These?

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Kaoru and Kenshin always seem to miss each other, hm? Kaoru, you pathetic girl - always leaving home whenever Kenshin arrives! Kaoru isn't really close to Okita and his family so she has never met Kenshin at any other time other than that day when she lost her job. Out of Kenshin's friends . . . only Saitou and Aoshi know her.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 7: You've Never Had These?

By: LadyYuina

Magdaria softly hummed to herself as she brushed her long brown hair. Her green eyes sparkled brightly with delight. Her brother, Shougo, watched her from her bedroom doorway. He was happy that she was happy. If she could have any semblance of a normal life he'd gladly let her have it. She almost deserved it more than anyone . . .

"Shougo . . ."

"Yes?"

"Do you think . . . Misao and Kaoru might not want to hang out with me if I told them about my illness? After all - they seem like really energetic girls. I don't think I'll be able to keep up with them . . ."

"Don't think so much - I don't think they're those type of people. They seem like really nice girls." Shougo came up behind her. "After all . . . thinking too much in your case might become a physiological issue . . ."

"Don't worry, that'll never happen to me," Magdaria told her brother reassuring. "And before you tell me 'have you taken your medication already this morning?' I'll tell you now that I already have." Shougo simply smiled.

Today was a beautiful bright Saturday morning. Magdaria stretched before getting up from her position on the chair she had occupied. Looking at the clock she noted that it was only 12:32 pm in the afternoon. There was still some time to relax before Kaoru and Misao came to pick her up.

The void of silence in the room was destroyed when Magdaria went into a coughing fit. Specks of blood covered palm as she moved it away from her mouth. Frowning, she went into her bathroom to wash off the blood. Birds softly chirping could be heard outside the window - Magdaria felt like going out and walking about in the backyard but it was unadvised. Prolonged exposure to the sun made her horrible coughing fits more frequent and painful. Shade was always a necessity no matter where she went in the summer. An umbrella always did the trick.

"I guess I'll go read a book instead . . ."

* * *

"Did you two finish your homework? I know your teachers assigned you both paperwork." 

"I finished mine a while ago but Ietsuna is still working on his times tables. I think he needs some help even though he won't admit it," Naoto said. He watched his brother for a moment before shaking his head. "Just tell daddy that you don't know the answer to those three - I can tell they're wrong . . . But I don't know the answer myself."

"I can do these by myself," Ietsuna said proudly. "You don't even know the answer . . . how do you know it's not right?"

"Let me see, Ietsuna." Kenshin picked up his son's math worksheet from behind him. "Two times two is not six . . . two times one is not three. You added that last one."

"Oh . . ."

"I told you some of them were wrong," Naoto stated. "I think I know what two times two is." He put up two fingers, each on either side of his hand and counted. A smile spread across his lips as he figured it out. "It's four!"

"God job, Naoto. You are absolutely correct."

"Count with your fingers . . . I think you can always find the answers that way." Naoto tried to do two times one. "Huh? But there's three fingers? How come it's wrong, daddy?" Confused blue eyes looked up at his father for correction.

Hmmm . . . how should I explain this? "You see these two fingers on this hand? And one on the other?" Naoto nodded. "The one hand with one finger up adds up to nothing with the other hand with the two fingers. So when you times them it still equals two. Remember that everything times by one will always be the same exact number that it was."

"So does one times one equal two?" Ietsuna asked. He was still confused. His father shook his head. "Did I add them again? Oh . . . I did . . ."

"One times one equals zero?" Naoto asked. Kenshin shook his head again. "You said the one means nothing."

"I did but one times one equals one. Zero times zero also equals zero. Remember that everything multiplied by zero will always be zero no matter how large the number is." Kenshin made two circles with both his thumb and two fingers. He put them together and there was still a hole present despite the fact that his fingers were atop one another.

"Then how come two times two isn't two?" Ietsuna and Naoto asked in unison.

"It's because you need to add two to two, two times. Did that sound confusing?" The two boys nodded. "Okay, here are two fingers. You need two more to make two twos." Kenshin scribbled it down on Ietsuna's homework. "You then add those two twos together."

"Zero times any number is always zero. One times any number will always be that number because one means nothing," Ietsuna explained.

"You nailed it, excellent job!" Kenshin patted him on the head. Ietsuna smiled and got back to work with much more vigor.

"Now that you've explained it I think I got some of my math problems wrong. I'll go fix them!" Naoto dashed off into his room to retrieve his own homework.

"This is my first time doing times tables - now that I know how to do it I think it's more fun!" Ietsuna exclaimed. His smile didn't last though when his father told him that there were going to be larger numbers when the times tables went up. "Then I don't think it's so fun anymore."

"Don't worry, if you ever get stuck just come to me. I can always help," Kenshin reassured him.

"When we finish with your homework are we going to your friend's house again?" Naoto asked.

"Yes."

"Will Aoshi be there this time?"

"Yes."

"We're eating lunch there together with everyone?"

"Yes, Naoto."

"Okay. That was all I wanted to know."

* * *

"Hurry up, Misao. If we're not ready soon we're gonna be late. Magdaria will be expecting us," Kaoru rushed. 

"I'm trying - sorry! I over slept, okay?"

"Heh, that's typical of you so no need for apologies." Kaoru ducked when Misao threw a brown teddy bear at her. "It's true though and aren't you too old to be having toys lying around in your room?"

"Well . . . yeah, but you don't need to rub them in. It's like a wound and you're putting salt on it to make it sting me."

"What a creative display of words. You make it sound like a battle wound."

Straightening out the parts of short hair, Misao announced, "I'm ready. How do I look?"

Kaoru looked at her from head to toe. She had on a pretty jeans skirt that went all the way down to her ankles with a split on the left side. She had on a red long-sleeved flannel shirt with a jeans jacket. She topped it off with black knee-high boots.

"You look all right."

"All right? Is that all?"

"It's fine, come on. Magdaria is waiting." Kaoru pushed her friend out of her bedroom and out pass the front door. "Do you have your house keys?" As Misao affirmed her that she did have her house keys with her Kaoru dragged her into her car. "Hitting the accelerator . . . and we're off!"

* * *

"Hi, Aoshi!" Naoto ran up to the tall man, smiling as he did so. Aoshi turned to face him. 

"Good afternoon, Naoto." Aoshi ruffled the kid's sky-blue hair - setting it in chaotic disarray. "How've you been?"

"I'm doing good. I know my times tables - at least the twos and some of the threes." Naoto blushed when Aoshi stuck out a hand for him to shake - he was so business-like. The sky-blue haired kid happily accepted the gesture. Small hands shook up and down incased in large somewhat warm ones.

"Congratulations. Your father must be proud."

"Thank you!"

"I'm going to have a little chat with your old man. You go run along and play."

"Okay! And my daddy is not old!" Aoshi chuckled at that response.

Aoshi walked across the backyard patio towards the red-head who was seated in a chair besides Saitou. Shougo and Sanosuke were not present but he didn't care to ask for their whereabouts. He took the third vacant seat and sat down, facing both of the men.

"Aoshi . . ." Saitou said with admiration for the younger man. Aoshi looked at him but made no gesture to speak or comment.

"How's the business treating you?" Kenshin asked. "Um - that woman isn't causing you any trouble is she?"

"Not at all. I haven't seen her in the building ever since that day."

"What woman?" Saitou looked from Aoshi to Kenshin. "If she pesters you at any time, I can have her locked up immediately for stalking."

"That sounds a little extreme, don't you think?" Kenshin said uneasily.

"Kamiya Kaoru is her name," Aoshi replied, overriding Kenshin's indictment.

"Eh! Kamiya? But she's my cousin . . . I see - that's why she moved here."

"Kamiya Kaoru is your cousin!" Kenshin asked incredulously. That job-crazed lunatic is Saitou's cousin? How come I never knew that? Perhaps they aren't very close . . .

"She's a bit of a oddball if you ask me," Saitou remarked. "Quite noisy too."

"A lot of woman are like that," Aoshi added.

"Tokio is no exception either."

"What was that?" Tokio asked, staring daggers at her husband from across the patio. Kenshin and Aoshi sweat dropped.

"It's nothing, dear. Don't be concerned over it."

"Hmph. You said I was a noisy woman, didn't you?"

"No."

"Don't lie to me, Saitou Okita! I'm watching you . . . Twenty-four/seven."

"She's more like a hawk than a sneaky raccoon." Saitou muttered just loud enough for Kenshin and Aoshi to hear. They shared a laugh.

* * *

Magdaria stared down at the strange looking substance on her plate. "What is this?" 

"You've never had any of these before?" Misao asked. Magdaria looked confused and shrugged. "These are Tae's homemade special dishes!"

"Huh?" Jade-green eyes met with bottle-green ones. "Tae's special dish?"

"Don't mind her - it's really just yakitori but Tae makes it really good. She won't tell us what she puts in it to make it taste this way though," Kaoru explained.

"I've never had yakitori before. I've only been in Japan for a year. I usually eat American style foods." This earned Magdaria a gasp from both of her friends.

"Then you must dine on fine Japanese cuisine! It's a shame you haven't tried some of Japan's more famous dishes let alone some simple ones!" Misao cried. "Bless Buddha that I will show this girl what Japan has to offer!"

Magdaria started to laugh. "Thank you for the commitment. That means a lot to me . . ."

"Well, it's just food."

"Yes, but I'd love to try all of Japan's most delicious dishes. I'd like to do that before I die."

"Die?" Misao looked at the girl curiously. Kaoru did the same.

"You two seem like really energetic girls - I don't know if I can keep up with the both of you. If my slowness is a burden I'd be more than willing to leave the two of you alone." Magdaria clutched at her cross necklace. "God knows my fate for me - I understand . . ."

"Magdaria . . . what are you saying?" Kaoru lifted the brunette haired woman's chin so they could see eye to eye. "You're not a burden. You're our friends so you'll never will be a problem for us." What did she mean when she said before she dies? Since she avoided answering it I guess right now is not the time to ask . . .

"If only Yumi were like the two of you . . ." Magdaria said, eyes filling up with tears.

"Huh?" Kaoru and Misao chimed in unison.

"I'll remember the both of you, always. I'll always remember Yumi too."

When Magdaria got home that night she pulled out her pink journal and started to write about the changes that she was going through. This was a journal full of her life's experiences. Even descriptions of her illness was recorded inside.

"I bet you've never had these . . . worst case ever, right?"

Chapter 7: END


	8. Chp 8: Job Hunting

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: I'd like to especially thank Plutobaby494, Loretta, and Ama (you two like both of my stories, yay for me!) for continuously reviewing and supporting me from the start! I really appreciate it! And thank you to all the others that have reviewed too.

Be warned, there is some "lemon" in this chapter. It's not too explicit though. I will not tell you where it begins or ends as to not ruin the story . . . Read at your own leisure . . . ;D

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 8: Job Hunting

By: LadyYuina

Soujirou playfully bounced onto his soft, fluffy futon when Okita beckoned him inside. He wasn't quite sure what his lover was up to but he could definitely guess. Okita sat down on the bed beside him.

"Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" Soujirou asked. A huge grin was plastered on his face - he now knew what was coming by looking at Okita's expression.

"Was is there to talk about? I simply wanted to see you!" He tackled Soujirou, forcing the other man to lean his back against it. He laid half on top of Soujirou. He gave him a light peck on the cheek. "But I do want to ask you this. Where were you today?"

Soujirou laughed. "I went job hunting with Kaoru."

"Oh? Any luck?"

"Nope - apparently . . . Kaoru was really picky about where to work. She-"

Okita cut him off by kissing him swiftly on the lips. When he broke the contact of their mouths Soujirou let out a soft giggle. But before he could say anything Okita had went back for seconds. Soujirou blushed when he felt his lover's groin pressed up against his side. He was hard and ready to go.

Okita was glad that Soujirou was garbed only in a yukata - it made it a lot easier to access what lied beneath. He started to untie the sash keeping the cloth together covering the man. Soujirou reached up and started to untie the sash that bounded Okita's hakama together.

As soon as Soujirou's sash was untied, he teasingly rolled away from Okita's hungry hands. Okita made a whimpering sound as he looked at the brunette haired man with puppy dog eyes. Okita was even more excite when Soujirou seductively slid his yukata off his shoulders - it was hard for him not to jump on his beautiful partner and ravish him!

As Okita grabbed Soujirou he squealed and tried to get away but Okita was way too fast for him. "Don't play hard to get - you're driving my hormones insane!" Soujirou laughed at his lover's arousal.

He allowed the bigger man to lie him on his back in a straight manner. Okita leaned over him, engaging him with more kissing. Soujirou moved his hand down over their bodies and purposely squeezed the other man's cock. He received a gasp that broke their kissing.

"Shall I enter now?" Okita asked, breathlessly.

"Have you knocked on the door first?" Soujirou was implying that he needed consent from him.

"There's no need to, the door shall definitely allow me entry." Okita slid his hakama off completely and prepared himself before Soujirou. Lube was rubbed on - he positioned himself over the smaller man. Okita eased his way in. The contact made Soujirou moan in pleasure.

Small grunts were breathed out as Okita thrust in and out. His movements made Soujirou slide slightly forward and back on the futon. As Soujirou came to he let out a soft sigh - Okita came soon after. He disconnected himself from Soujirou and laid beside him in a sweaty heap underneath the cool night air that seeped through the open window.

"That felt good," Okita happily said. "When was the last time we even did this?"

Blushing furiously, Soujirou huffed, "don't even ask!"

Laughing, Okita replied, "maybe we should do it again - I know it's been ages since we've made love to each other!" Soujirou shook his head which made Okita look crestfallen. "You tired, Sou-chan?"

"Yes, Ooki-chan. Let's get some sleep."

Soujirou and Okita were lulled to sleep as the soft chirping of crickets filled the night sky. All was calm and a sense of security blanketed the two.

* * *

Kaoru sat on her own futon fuming about the fact that she wasn't able to find a job. She was also worried about what Saitou had called her . . . He said she was stupid. Stupid as a moron, block-head, dufus, dunce! 

"This stinks! How can I get Saitou to change his mind about me?" Kaoru asked herself. "He's a police officer so wouldn't bringing criminals to justice satisfy him? Hmmm . . . I can't deal with something like that Whatever - I'll just try by my own means! Maybe he wants me to get a job?"

"Kaoru? Have you seen Mango?" Suzume asked. "He is always running away and hiding somewhere in the house."

Kaoru turned in the child's direction. When did she get here? Did she hear me talking to myself! "Mango? I haven't seen him."

Suzume nodded in understanding. She looked at Kaoru curiously before asking, "who were you talking to?"

I guess she heard me . . . "I was talking on the phone." Good excuse! Heh . . .

"Oh - I didn't see you holding a phone."

Gah! Busted! "Suzume, I was talking on a cell phone. Some are very small - maybe you didn't see me holding it."

"You weren't holding anything. I saw you talking. Were you talking to an invisible friend? My daddy says that there are no such things a invisible friends."

"I wasn't talking to an invisible person." She's quite perceptive . . . why must most children be like this! Suzume gave her a confused look. If I tell her that I was talking to myself she'd think I'm a psycho wouldn't she? "Err . . . I was talking to myself."

"My daddy told me that crazy people do that."

Does her father tell her everything! Sheesh! "Haha, yeah, crazy people do that . . . but sane people do it too."

"Sane? What does that mean?"

"Someone that is normal and not crazy. You see, sane people talk to themselves too but not as much as crazy people. I think . . ."

"I'll go tell my daddy what he thinks."

"No!" Suzume gave Kaoru a funny look. "No . . . uh, that's not necessary. I already told you that sane people can do it too." Trying to distract the child, Kaoru added, "and you are looking for Mango, aren't you? How about I come help?"

"Okay."

Getting up and straightening her yukata, Kaoru followed Suzume out into the living room. "Where did you last see him?" Dear lord, I swear this dog loves to hide! Something rubbed up against Kaoru's left leg. She froze up immediately.

"Eeeeeeeeiiiiiiuuuuuuhhhh!"

Suzume threw her hands up over her ears and winced. "Owww - that hurt, Kaoru. You scream really loud! It's only Mango so you don't have to be scared. I think he likes you."

"Suzume, what's the matter!" Saitou and Tokio burst onto the scene. Tokio held a rolling pin as a weapon while Saitou had a gun. "Did someone break in? Are you two hurt?"

"We heard screaming," Tokio exclaimed. "If there is a bad man here, tell us where he went, honey."

"What's all the fuss about?" Megumi asked groggily as she walked up beside Saitou and Tokio. "I heard an awfully loud scream."

"Bad man?" Kaoru looked down at Suzume and she in turn looked up at her. "There was no bad man. Kaoru screamed because Mango scared her but I don't think Mango is scary at all. See?" She held up the black dog to show everyone that he was harmless.

"You are scared of Mango, Kaoru?" Tokio asked. She lowered the rolling pin she was holding in her left hand as she let it hang limply by her side. "He's such a sweet dog but I guess looks can be deceiving? He doesn't cause the rest of us trouble. Did he bite you?"

"Want me to examine you?" Megumi asked, rather annoyed to be woken up from her early retirement to bed.

Kaoru shook her head. She was causing trouble for this family again! It looked like her crazy outbursts were never going to end . . . "He didn't bite me. Um . . . I'll call it a night - good night guys." I'm always dashing away . . . shouldn't I say something?

I wonder if Saitou thinks more lowly of me since I get so frightened easily. I wonder if Tokio thinks I'm a weirdo? I even wonder what Megumi and Suzume think. How do they really see me as?

One day - maybe I'll get the courage to ask.

* * *

The next day Kaoru decided to go job hunting again. Instead of going with just Soujirou, Misao came along too. Kaoru's friend had insisted on not going but Kaoru wouldn't let her even consider doing that. She needed her help and she was going to get it. 

"Really, Kaoru . . . I'm sure Soujirou would be enough of an assistance," Misao argued.

"He went with me yesterday and he's coming again." Kaoru looked over at Soujirou - he happily smiled at her. "If he's willing to help me again you can at least help me this once. I'll go by myself next time if the need arises."

"Fine, fine, let's go then."

Their first stop was a store by the name of 'Dennis's Products.' The sign outside said that they were hiring so Kaoru decided to pick up an application . . . thanks to the persistence of Misao's mouth. This was why she needed her friend - she made her do things for her own good. Soujirou merely made suggestions but he was still helpful.

"If you get hired as a store clerk it won't be too bad, Kaoru. I've worked as one before," Soujirou told her.

"But it really looks boring . . . all you do is slide things over the scanner. Collect money and say, 'Thank you for shopping at Dennis's Products! Have a nice day!'"

"You sound like a natural-born store's clerk!" Misao teased. "This job would be perfect for you!"

"I can't keep up that kind of attitude. If someone makes me mad I'm not sure if I can hold back my anger for long," Kaoru explained.

"Good point. How about that coffee shop over there? They're hiring." Misao pointed a finger to a coffee place that was across the street from them.

When they entered their nostrils were instantly hit with the aroma of cocoa beans. The smell was intoxicating. Kaoru breathed in deeply and scanned around the place. Her eyes fell upon two certain individuals that sat in a corner of the shop. When one of the individuals looked up he spotted Kaoru and grinned, waving her over.

"Misao, Soujirou, Yumi and Shishio are here," Kaoru announced, as she walked towards them. Her two companions followed behind her.

"Hey there, Kaoru," Shishio greeted.

"Hi," Yumi said.

Kaoru looked at the both of them - they looked so sophisticated. Both Yumi and Shishio wore small compact glasses and had their hair nicely groomed. Yumi's was tied up in a bun behind her head while Shishio's was a short ponytail at the nape of his neck. There were no bandages present on his face since he went through plastic surgery.

"Wow . . . you two really look different!" Misao remarked. The black haired youth looked at their business-like clothing in admiration. "My, my, Shishio . . . So that's how you look like underneath all those bandages." His face was lightly toned from the lack of sunlight upon his flesh but his face structure was nicely chiseled. He had a high bridged nose with medium sized thin lips that displayed a handsome grin. He could have been a super model if he wanted to be!

"Thank you for the compliments but I have gone through plastic surgery. That was the only way to remove my horribly burned skin." Misao wrinkled up her face and Shishio smirked.

"What do you two do for a living now?" Soujirou asked. Contradicting himself, he answered, "By the looks of it, I'd say you're both journalist of some sort."

"You're correct. I'm a beginner novelist while Shishio is a publisher. I'm sure you have all heard of the company called, Soumo?"

"I've heard of that," Soujirou replied. "Books like 'Hearts' Desires' and 'Down Under' were published by Soumo."

"I own that company," Shishio declared triumphantly.

"Yumi," Kaoru started. There's a chance that she's the same girl . . . "Do you know someone by the name of Magdaria?"

"Nope. I've never heard of that person before. Who is she?" Yumi asked, perplexed.

"Just a friend."

"She had quite a unique name but it's very pretty." Yumi smiled at Kaoru warmly. "I'd like to meet Magdaria sometime."

"That can be arranged!" Misao butted in. "I'm sure she'd be happy to meet you! It's always nice to meet new people and have more friends!"

Shishio looked at his watch - frowning, he stood up and placed a ten dollar bill on the table. "I need to go, everyone. It was nice seeing the three of you again." Handing them each a business card, he added, "let's keep in touch."

"Take care, Shishio!" Soujirou called after the man's retreating form. His short ponytail bobbed about as he walked.

"What are the three of you doing here?" Yumi asked, now that her boyfriend was gone. "At first, I thought you all wanted espresso but you haven't ordered anything."

"We're not here for that. Kaoru came here to apply to work here," Misao explained, much to Kaoru's dismay.

"I see." Yumi trained her eyes on the blue-eyed raven haired girl who stood directly in front of her. "If you do get hired I'd like to get service from you. Also, I'll make sure to leave a huge tip."

Soujirou and Misao laughed while Kaoru blushed. Things seemed to be turning out for the better. As Kaoru turned in her application she was sure that she was going to get hired. This was the hope that she clung to.

Chapter 8: END


	9. Chp 9: Unexpected Encounter

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: I've been super busy so I didn't have time to update. In fact, I will not update as often as I used to but rest assured I won't give up on this story . . . I hope. As of now, I'm still going strong with this thing. Okay! After you've read this chapter please be kind and leave a review for me, hm?

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 9: Unexpected Encounter

By: LadyYuina

Kenshin sat at his desk as his class went about the task of writing one paragraph about their families. Today was a bright and beautiful Tuesday morning. Kenshin looked up from his writing when a student by the name of Nerine raised her hand.

"Teacher, may I go use the poddy?" she asked. Kenshin nodded. She walked up to his desk and waited for him to escort her. Once they were outside they walked together in silence.

Nerine suddenly spoke up. "I can't hold it much longer! We must hurry to the poddy!" As she started to run Kenshin saw a yellow trail of urine snake down her legs. Catching up to her he swept her up off her feet as he ran into the girls' restroom without thinking.

"Who are you?" said a startled woman. She looked at the girl in his arms - the yellow liquid flowing down her dress - and the red-headed man's shocked face.

Blushing, the child said, "I'm all done, teacher, but I have wetted my panties and dress. Sorry."

"Nerine, I'll wait outside." Kenshin was blushing also when he looked into the child's eyes. "She'll help you with the rest, okay?"

"But, Mr. Himura," Nerine protested. "I don't want you to go." As Kenshin placed her onto her feet she firmly clutched at his pants' leg. "I want you to stay here!"

Kenshin ruefully smiled - this was like a mock parody of when he met the naive girl named Kamiya Kaoru. "I'll wait right outside."

"Come on, err . . . Nerine, I'll get you cleaned up," the woman said. She smiled up at Kenshin as he stepped out and waited.

When Nerine emerged, she was draped in the woman's purple sweater. It was too large for her so it seemed more like a dress and the sleeves were rolled up to the child's wrists. The woman came out after her.

"Thank you, Miss . . ." Kenshin halted in his words.

"It's Komagata Yumi. It's nice to meet you." She politely bowed and shifted her glasses slightly up the bridge of her nose with her index finger.

"Thank you, Miss Komagata. I'm Himura Kenshin." He also politely bowed.

"If you're wondering - I'm not a teacher of this school." Kenshin smirked and Yumi smirked with him. "Like I've read your mind, huh? You can say that I'm empathic at times. Well . . . Since you're a teacher here, would you mind directing me to K-12?"

"Sure."

"Schools nowadays can be so confusing," Yumi huffed.

"Haha, I know what you mean. Is it necessary for you to go there now? Because I need to take Nerine to the office - there's no one supervising the students in my class. Would you mind-"

"Certainly. Show me the way and I'll watch the lil' munchkins in the meantime."

"You are a very nice lady," Nerine piped. "I'll give you back your sweater when I get my mommy to bring me some clothes."

"Thank you, Nerine. You are very nice yourself. You are very lucky to have a extremely nice teacher too, hm?"

Nerine nodded vigorously before running ahead of the two adults that lingered behind. She stopped and waited when she reached the classroom door - it would seem odd if she entered without Kenshin with her. "The classroom is right here!" Nerine told Yumi. Kenshin opened to the door and they each stepped inside. All the children's heads turned in their direction.

"Mr. Himura, welcome back!" they chorused.

Yumi laughed. "You seem well-loved among your students."

"Hmmm." Kenshin turned towards the class. "Listen everyone, Miss Komagata will watch over you all while I take Nerine to the office." Ooohhhhs were heard from the crowd.

"Did Nerine get in trouble?" a boy asked.

"What did she do?" another added.

"She's not in trouble - she just needs to go to the office to get something. Behave and be nice to Miss Komagata while I'm gone, okay?"

"Okay!" the students replied.

"She's really nice! You'll like her!" Nerine told the class before she Kenshin left.

* * *

When Kenshin went back to his classroom with Nerine in tow he found Yumi reading to his students. He was surprised to see her reading the book titled, "Idealistic Personifications." It was even more bizarre that his class was enjoying it. Yumi looked up when she noticed Kenshin's presence. 

"Welcome back, Mr. Himura."

Nerine left his side and took her seat, dressed in new clothing. "What are you guys listening to?" Students turned on her and started babbling. She was overwhelmed but tried her best to listen. Kenshin and Yumi laughed - this reminded him of the day Naoto first went to school under his care.

* * *

"_Naoto, there's no need to be scared," Kenshin told him, patting him on his back gently._

"_But everyone started saying things to me - it was really hard to listen to everything they were talking about. I've never had that many people come up to me before."_

"_What did they say to you?"_

"_Some asked me questions and some told me stuff ." Naoto released his hold on Kenshin's leg when he realized that he was clinging onto him. Kenshin knew that he was an also very needy individual even though he didn't want to admit it. His childcare provider at the center did say that he was withdrawn._

"_I understand that that can be overwhelming but it goes to show that you are well-liked." Kenshin sat down on a chair that was directly behind him. "When I was a kid no one would talk to me when I first came to a new school."_

_Bright blue eyes widened surprisingly. Naoto never expected for his foster father to be alone at all. He was so kind and easy-going, he found it hard to believe that no one would approach such a man like him._

"_That was all in the past, it's no big deal."_

_Naoto smiled a small smile and patted Kenshin's arm. This time he was going to give out comfort - not receive, and it felt good. Besides, he liked his foster dad a lot to really care._

* * *

"It was a pleasure to watch over your class. I was surprised they liked a book as deep as this one. I can tell they'll each have a bright future," Yumi complimented. 

Kenshin blushed and bowed. Remembering what Yumi asked before, Kenshin asked, "didn't you need help finding K-12?"

"I've gotten that all straightened out. Your students kindly explained to me the directions - very smart kids." Yumi said goodbye and left the classroom.

Kenshin turned back to his class. She had obviously left an impression on his students - they all seemed like they have gained a lot of knowledge just by telling their teacher about what they had learned about the book.

* * *

Later that evening Kenshin went to a local bar that usually frequented on the weekends but that all ended when he adopted Naoto and Ietsuna. He didn't want alcohol to be a part of his life anymore so he gave up on it. The only reason he was going to the bar wa because his friends Aoshi and Sanosuke were there. 

"Hey, Kenshin! Welcome!" Sanosuke shouted, with slurred gestures when he spotted the short red-head amongst the crowd. "We're over here!"

Kenshin sighed when he saw Aoshi was drunk too - he was the one that called him and told him to come. Was it because he was under the influence of alcohol?

"Hey . . . Aoshi . . . Sanosuke." Kenshin sat down beside the tall brown spiky haired man who immediately hooked a arm around his shoulders. The stench of alcohol made Kenshin want to drink too but he refrained from doing so. "Exactly why am I here? You two need a lift home?"

"No!" Sanosuke blurted, howling in laughter. "I don't know why you're here but please have a drink with us!"

"Aoshi called me." It seems like I didn't realize that he was drunk when he made the call . . . "You don't look drunk, Aoshi . . ."

"I am?" Aoshi asked. "I am! The whole world needs to leave me alone! Kaoru can kiss my ass!"

Kenshin sweat dropped - Aoshi was drunk even though he didn't look it. He was spouting random thoughts . . . peachy. "I think I'll go guys . . ." This may be irresponsible of me but I can't fight the urge to not drink any longer!

"Wait, get us another round of drinks first," Sanosuke ordered. "Aoshi and I aren't finished yet."

"Fine. You better pay me back . . ."

"Yeah, yeah - just get us some drinks." Sanosuke foolishly waved for his friend to get off his butt and go grab the drinks. He was treating him like a maid.

Kenshin made his way to the counter - the urge to drink was very strong now. He was tempted to buy a glass for himself. Kenshin didn't notice someone was tapping him on his shoulder until it became more persistent and harder in nature.

"Yes?" He turned towards the person tapping him - violet colored eyes widened. "Kaoru?"

"Hey - I remember you from somewhere! You're that man that gave me the tie, right?" she asked. Her head lolled about lazily as she tried to focus her eyes on the man before her. "Have a drink with me will you?"

As Kaoru leaned on Kenshin he disinterestedly shrugged her off. "I have to get back to my friends."

As Kenshin made his way back to the table he realized his friends were nowhere to be found. He frowned. Kaoru's laughter made him turn around - his frown deepened.

"Where are your friends? I don't see any - do you have invisible friends?" Kaoru let out a high pitched laugh and leaned against the red head for support before she'd fall over completely. "Saitou says they don't exist, ya know?"

"I don't have imaginary friends," Kenshin replied, rather stiffly. He was ticked off that his friends had ditched him - he placed the drinks down on the table.

Kaoru eyed the glasses of beer. "You gonna drink them?" Kenshin shook his head. "Can I drink 'em, it'd be a waste, ya know?"

"Be my guest . . ." Kenshin pushed her slim form of himself and sat her down in a seat. Right when she reached for a cup she fell forward, flat on her face. Kenshin looked alarmed.

"Ow . . . That hurt. How did I hit my face?"

Kenshin laughed - it was funny to see the emotionally high-strung woman act like a retard. Kaoru beckoned Kenshin to come closer to her - he obeyed. She leaned up close to his ear and whispered, "boo."

"Huh?" Kenshin pulled away from her, completely confused. "I'll leave you with the drinks. Have a good time!"

"Come drink with me, Ken - err . . . Ken!" Kaoru exclaimed. "Don't leave a girl hanging!"

"The name's Kenshin and I don't drink (anymore) but thank you for the offer. I must be on my way."

"Wait up! Can I get a ride? Sheesh . . . every time I run into you, you need to go."

"You didn't drive here?" Kenshin asked. Kaoru shook her head and smiled stupidly. Her bangs swished back and forth as she did so. "I didn't expect to run into you again but wonders can work in mysterious ways."

"I think I'll go now," Kaoru said, as she stood up. "Bye."

Kenshin looked at her and frowned - some drunk people act really randomly and she was one of those people. "At least she's not a violent drunk . . ." Kenshin caught up to her and took her to his car. She was wondering what he was doing but she didn't bother to ask.

Her mind was all fuzzy.

Chapter 9: END


	10. Chp 10: Awkward Situations PART 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Add a woman. Add another kid to the fray . . . Mix it up and what do you get? The chapter title says it all.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 10: Awkward Situations (Part 1)

By: LadyYuina

Suzume and Ayame wandered around the gigantic place they called a home. Mango barked happily and ran ahead of them, always waiting for them to catch up and then going on ahead again. When they rounded the corner they ran into a tall white haired man.

"Excuse me, children," he said politely.

Suzume and Ayame stared up at him in awe - they had never seen a person that wasn't old with white hair.

With the tenacity common to children, Suzume asked, "you have white hair, Mister. You're not old - my grandpa and grandma have white hair too."

"Are you an old man in disguise?" Ayame asked.

The white haired man laughed as he shook his head. He walked around the children, saying, "I need to use the restroom, perhaps we can talk later?"

"Wait, Mister, what's your name?" Ayame was curious to know.

"My name is Enishi."

"I'm Ayame and she's Suzume," Ayame said, pointing to her little sister. "And he is our dog, Mango." Enishi simply smiled, bowed, and walked off.

"We should have asked him where Kaoru was," Suzume surmised.

"Who do you think that man was? I've never seen him here before," Ayame noted, ignoring her sister's late suggestion.

"There you two are!" Soujirou exclaimed. He came up to them and took a hold of one of their hands, leading them back to the living room. "Don't go running off like that - this house is very big. There are many heavy and sharp objects lying around. I don't want either one of you to get hurt."

"We were looking for Kaoru . . . Have you seen her?" Ayame asked.

"Now that you mention it - I haven't seen her come home yesterday," Soujirou made note. "I wonder where she could be?"

* * *

"Daddy, who's that woman sleeping on the couch?" Naoto asked, as he entered the house. It was 3:30 pm and they had just made it home from school.

Kaoru stirred for a second but didn't wake up until more talking continued. Cracking a eye open she saw large blue eyes peering down at her. Startled, she opened both eyes and lifted up her groggy head - she did it more slowly than she had anticipated. Her vision was somewhat blurry. She saw a long length of red splotches in the distance.

"Daddy, she woke up," Naoto told him. He continued to stare at the woman curiously. If this girl was his daddy's love interest he was gonna have to do something about it . . . He didn't want another woman to marry his dad and then abandon them once more - not ever again did he want that to happen.

Kaoru sighed when a cold damp towel was placed on her throbbing forehead, she laid her head back down. She felt a hand gently move over her sweaty bangs out of her eyes. Her flitted open and closed - she felt so out of control.

"What's wrong with her, daddy?" Naoto never ceased his rapid fire of questions. As much as Kenshin tried to conceal to him that he didn't know her he couldn't hide it from his perceptive son.

"She has a hangover . . ."

"What does hangover mean?"

"That's a term that you shouldn't learn right now . . . Where's your brother?"

"He's using the bathroom. Who is she? Why is she in our house? Do you like her? Does she like you? Are you two going to get married? Does she have kids? Is she mean? Does she hit children who dislike her?"

"Naoto . . . uh, that's quite a bit of questions don't you think?" Kenshin looked at Kaoru's sleeping form. He still found it mind boggling that she'd end up here instead of the Okita's. "Run along and go play. I think she needs some restful sleep." From experience he knew that it was all too true.

"Don't do anything funny," Naoto warned him. Kenshin laughed - not bothering to take it seriously, yet Naoto was very serious about it.

* * *

"_What does this button do?" Kaoru pushed it before Kenshin could stop her. The radio came on and Kaoru let out a high-pitched squeak. "Backstreet Boys' 'Never Gone'! I love this song!"_

_Kenshin wanted to cover his ears when the irritating raven haired woman sang - he would have if he weren't holding onto the steering wheel . . . Her singing suddenly turned into wails of despair as she started to cry - this was even more annoying than her insufferable singing._

"_What are you crying about?" Kenshin asked, shouting above the loud music and wailing._

"_My precious job! I lost my awesome, super cool job! Aoshi can kiss my ass! He doesn't deserve that job more than me!" Kaoru went silent after that and simply looked to the side. "Look at all the trees - I see birds flying onto them! How come it looks like daytime when I look to the side but nighttime when I look straight ahead? Why's that, Ken?"_

_Kenshin ignored her stupid questions. "You live with the Okita's, right?"_

"_No, I don't even know who you're talking about! Besides, Saitou doesn't want me at his place! Take me to yours!"_

_Kenshin couldn't get her to get out of the car when he drove to the Okita's. Kaoru insistently refused to budge from her side of the seat. Not wanting to look like a total fool trying to throw a woman out of his car, Kenshin got back in on the drivers' side and drove home._

_

* * *

_

Kenshin sat down on a chair and leaned his head back against the back support part of it. His eyes didn't find peace for long though because his doorbell rung. Groaning with annoyance Kenshin went to answer it. To his surprise he saw his son, Kenji, standing in front of him with two suitcases on either side of him.

"Kenji?" Horror-stricken eyes looked at his son up and down. Kenji was dressed in black from head to toe - atop his head he had on a black baseball cap with no logo . . . even his lips were painted black with dark mascara lining his eyes. Around his neck were chain after chain of crosses and human skull shaped necklaces. He had on a black sweatshirt jacket and black baggy jeans, finished off with a belt chain.

Kenji raised a black gloved hand in greeting. "Yo."

"He's moving in with you," Mrs. Himura demanded, as she came up to the doorway. "I cant stand anymore of his rebellion and irresponsible attitude." Grabbing at a chunk of her hair she showed Kenshin that she was starting to sprout gray strands. She was only twenty-nine, much too young to be getting white hair . . .

"Tomoe - you can't just come barging in here a year later and force Kenji upon me. It was your choice in court that you had custody over him," Kenshin spat. "And it's your fault that he is this way now."

"I don't understand - I raised him to be a good boy but now - now, he's become this hideous dark person.!"

"Gothic, mom, you mean gothic," Kenji corrected her. She crossed her arms and he rolled his eyes at her. "Besides, what do you really know about being a mom. These past few months you've been ignoring me - actually . . . ever since you and dad split. I think you regret taking care of me . . . but your pride got the best of you so you didn't change your mind until now."

"Kenji, how dare-"

"Listen to me, mom!" Kenji stared angry blue daggers at her. "I remind you of dad, don't I? I remind you of everything he is, from his hair color to his face and deep down to the core. Everything."

"Shut up! What would a kid like you know?"

Naoto and Ietsuna appeared on the arguing trio. Ietsuna clung to Naoto as he saw the woman that had abandoned them a year ago - she was here . . . Tomoe spotted them. She looked at them with hateful eyes. Ietsuna cowered under her gaze while Naoto threw her back a nasty look of his own.

"I see you still have those two brats, I was sure you'd return them to their rightful place."

"Don't go adding them to this mess," Kenshin warned.

"They are a part of this - no need to exclude them."

"Naoto and Ietsuna did nothing wrong . . . you just couldn't handle them. After all, it was your idea to adopt them." Kenshin realized he spoke too soon - he could feel Naoto and Ietsuna's eyes on him. Looking inside him to see what was in his innermost depths. "Naoto . . ." Naoto and Ietsuna joined hands as they ran into Naoto's room, locking the door behind them with a sound click. "Ietsuna . . ."

"My dear Kenshin, this just goes to show how much you really care for them."

Kenshin growled - at that moment he felt like punching his ex-wife in the face, yet he restrained himself. If he had hit her she'd made sure it'd been trialed in court as abuse.

"Dad!" Kenji called from the living room. He had obviously slipped inside without Kenshin noticing. "Who's this woman?"

"A woman, eh?" Tomoe smirked while looking at her husband. "Sign this piece of crap, will you? This will relinquish my ties with our pitiful son." Kenshin snatched the document and pen from her as he wrote his name down. He handed it back to her. "Good day, Kenshin. I sure do hope that we'll never have to cross paths again."

"Tomoe . . . wait!" Kenshin shouted. The red-head couldn't deny his feelings for his wife - he thought his love for her had extinguished a year ago but somehow some of the light had remained. Now that light became an open flame again - his heart shamefully ached for her presence. Her hand no longer welcomed his to intertwine with hers.

"Leave me alone, Kenshin - I want you out of my life. At last, I have rid myself of a part of you that I should have done much sooner. Say goodbye to the kids for me." Kenshin was dumbstruck, he also felt as if his heart had shattered into a million pieces. Recollecting them sounded like a painful process as each piece he picked up would prick him. Bleeding blood . . .

Kenshin was utterly heartbroken - even now, when he tried to push Tomoe out of his heart he found it was a lot harder to do than he'd thought.

Going back into the house Kenshin closed the front door behind him. He looked to the bedroom door that Naoto and Ietsuna had ran into - Kenshin wanted to go comfort them, likewise, there was Kenji to deal with first. As he walked into the living room he found his son watching Kaoru sleeping peacefully. She hadn't even stirred despite of all the ruckus that was going on before.

"Uh . . . Dad?" Kenji lowered his head so that the baseball cap hid his eyes from view.

Kenshin knew then, that Kenji felt out of place. It was like he was thrown into a whole new world with different rules and settings. If Kenshin were his son he'd be overwhelmed too. And it must have felt painful for him to be tossed away by his own mother.

"It's okay son, you can live here. If your mother won't love you you'll still have me." Kenji looked up, his eyes brimming over with tears. "Kenji . . ."

"Dad!" Kenji cried, he ran forward to hug his father. This made Kenshin wonder how many times he had or hadn't cried around his mother. But hid guess was that he hid it all along. Weakness wasn't a trait Tomoe liked seeing.

"What your mother did was wrong . . . now - she has abandoned all of us. You are finally truly mine at last, and I'll love you always. Don't forget that."

Kaoru slept on as father and son grieved over the loss of a mother and a once loving wife. Tomoe may have dealt a harsh blow to her family but they weren't going to fall apart at the seams because of it . . .

Chapter 10: END

A/N: Kenji is 13 years old. Didn't want to put it at the top so I won't spoil who the other kid was. Kenshin had him when he was really young! ;P

Merry Christmas everyone!


	11. Chp 11: Awkward Situations PART 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Sorry for those who are confused about Kenji's presence, but I did mention him in **Chapter 5 **if you've read it. Tomoe was asked by Kenshin if she would love the adopted children as much as Kenji. Like I said before, I will reveal why Tomoe can no longer have children a bit later, perhaps soon, please be patient. Thank you. Also, I'd like it if you'd leave a review for me.

Yukishiro Enishi: 25

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 11: Awkward Situations (Part 2)

By: LadyYuina

Enishi stiffly sat opposite of Saitou as he tried to sum up words to describe himself. He broke his gaze away from the other man when a black bundle of fur came walking up to them. It let out a loud bark to make sure its presence was known, before jumping atop the couch to settle itself upon Saitou's lap. Enishi looked at the dog for a moment.

"Mango, right?" Enishi asked.

"Yes - have you two already met?"

"Yeah, down in the hall. I also met two little girls . . ."

"I see." Enishi looked at the dog again - unaware that Saitou was looking at him all the while. Enishi's eyes stared at the dog lovingly.

"Do you like dogs?" Saitou asked him, slightly smiling.

The white haired man looked at Saitou while nodding. "I'm sorry about the hesitation, though I'm sure you want to hear my profile since I'm going to be your partner."

"That'd be nice . . ."

Enishi was a little unnerved by his new partner's replies. They all sounded so flat and emotionless. Saitou smirked when he saw the effect that he was having on the other man - he wanted to test him to see if he was worth his time.

"Okay - here I go . . . My full name is Yukishiro Enishi and I am twenty-five years old. Still a rookie towards this whole police thing I suppose . . . I'm sorry about your loss, I do hope I can live up to your previous partner's expectations as well as yours. I am not married and am in fit condition. My gun shot aim is decent, but I wouldn't be your partner if I didn't have some skills." Saitou laughed, causing Enishi to smile sheepishly. He managed to make the other man show a remote sense of humor by his crude remark about himself. "And one last thing - I hope to learn a lot from you."

"That's nice to hear. Just try and keep up when we're forced to chase someone down."

"Don't worry, I like to run so that won't be a problem!" Enishi flexed his legs confidently.

"Hehe, whatever you say. If you've ever tried chasing someone you'll be amazed at how fast one can run when they're panicking."

"I can handle it . . ."

"Sure thing, kid."

"It's Enishi," the white haired man corrected him. Saitou merely chuckled as white brows scornfully frowned.

--

Kaoru awoke with a groan - she vaguely remembered waking up earlier but that was all. Reaching for her forehead, she felt a damp towel placed there. Head pounding with pain, Kaoru took the now warm towel off. She knew It must have been cold at one point . . .

"Where am I?"

"You're awake. Who are you?" Kaoru turned around to see what she believed was a smaller version of Kenshin.

"Are . . . you Kenshin?" Kaoru asked stupidly. Her head kept on throbbing - she wished she had something to make it go away.

"Kenshin? No, that's my dad. Who are you?" the boy asked again. "Are you his girlfriend?"

"Dad . . . dad? You're Kenshin's son?" The brown haired youth rolled his eyes. Kaoru frowned - her head was in pain and this kid was making her feel extremely stupid. "Uh . . . I'm Kaoru. It's . . . err . . . nice to meet you."

"Yeah, whatever. Answer my question - are you my dad's girlfriend?"

"No." If Kaoru wasn't mistaken, she swore the boy looked at her with hopeful eyes. Whatever way she was supposed to interpret that, she had no idea.

"Hmmm, you should be." Kaoru blushed at the statement. "I think my dad needs someone new in his life - you could be a start."

Kaoru saw the whole situation in an entire new light - it felt awkward. She didn't even remember how she got here . . . Panicking, Kaoru looked under the blanket to see that she was still fully clothes, however, she reeked of alcohol.

"Do you have a job?"

"Yeah - oh shit! I'm late for work!" Kaoru stood up and the kid's eyes widened. Kaoru gave him a quizzical look. The kid blushed, turning away - Kaoru looked down at herself. She yelped, covering herself with the blanket while looking to the couch's cover sheet. It was stained red. What was she gonna do now . . .?

"Hey, uh . . ."

"It's Kenji . . ."

"Kenji, is your dad home?" Kaoru asked. He shook his head and she frowned. "Um . . . I'll need to use the bathroom . . . can you tell me where it is?"

"I'm still new here so I'll go look for it for you." Kaoru impatiently waited because she was leaking, the stupid brat had to take his time! She was too busy fuming to really think about what he just told her. Another boy entered the living room - his eyes were red and puffy. He seemed to be looking around for someone.

"Looking for something?" Kaoru asked, almost hesitantly.

"Is my daddy home?" the boy asked. His sky-blue hair swayed with movement as he turned his head this way and that. Kaoru thought, irrationally, that he looked really young.

"How old are you?"

The child looked at her, pupils enlarging by her question, still, he answered her. "Nine . . ."

"Miss, I found the bathroom, come over here."

Naoto watched as the woman took the blanket and the couch sheet with her. He gazed at her - completely confused with her actions.

"Naoto, dad went out to get something from school - he'll be back soon," Kenji told him, when he saw him. Naoto simply stared at his brother, not really acknowledging his purpose of speaking to him. He made his way back to his room.

--

"Kaoru hasn't come home yet?" Ayame asked Soujirou.

"I'm afraid not - I don't even know where she's at."

"I saw her leave the house yesterday . . . she said something about drink . . . drinking," Suzume struggled to say.

"Oh, boy." Soujirou sighed, placing a hand tiredly to his forehead.

"Is it a bad thing to drink? If it is, I won't drink anything ever again," Suzume declared.

Soujirou sweat dropped. "Not that kind of drinking, Suzume. You can still drink juice and water, but . . . there is this kind of smelly stuff that is bad for you. You don't want to drink that . . ."

"Medi is bad - it smells bad so does it mean we don't have to drink it?" Suzume questioned.

"You mean medicine - it's good for you so you do have to drink that whenever you get sick or injured." Soujirou explained several aspects of prescription drugs and actual alcohol that were liquids. Ayame and Suzume drilled him until they understood. Soujirou was worn out by the end of their session. He liked the fact that they liked to learn, but they always wanted everything at once - which can be overwhelming and frustrating at the same time.

Soujirou gasped when someone latched onto him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. He felt a soft peck on his cheek. Suzume and Ayame giggled, saying that they wanted a kiss and hug too. Okita released his lover to go towards the two girls. They laughed harder when he squeezed them, giving them big, sloppy kisses.

"Your mother is coming to watch you guys, okay? Soujirou and I are going to take a walk," Okita told the two children.

"Okay, have fun!" Ayame and Suzume called out after them.

--

Okita and Soujirou held hands as they walked along the winding trails of the Okita's giant garden. It was even more amazing that it was going to expand further - taking up some acres of forest along with it.

"The weather is nice today, isn't it?" Okita asked.

"Yup," Soujirou happily replied. He swung his arm back and forth - pulling Okita's along with his. Okita started to blush, Soujirou wondered why. He gave his lover a questioning look - Okita was determined to give him an answer. Whether it came out horribly or not.

Soujirou could feel Okita's hand tighten in grip so he stopped his swinging. He had a serious look masking over his features. "Sou-chan - have . . . have you ever thought about marriage?"

Now it was Soujirou's turn to blush as he nodded. He had a hunched up feeling that Okita was going to propose, though he couldn't be too sure. The outcome could be anything based on the question he asked him.

"What about having kids? Was that something you wanted if you ever got married?" Okita slugged him with more questions.

"Of course - I love kids!" Soujirou stopped walking when they approached an oak tree. Completely changing the subject, he said, "I like this oak tree - I come to his tree all the time ever since I was in high school."

Soujirou knew what was coming - he didn't want to have to disappoint Okita's parents, if he did propose it would be something Soujirou couldn't hold account over. Resolutely, he'd definitely try though. An awkward silence passed between the two men under the ancient oak tree.

"Okita . . . I-" His eyes looked uncertain - so he looked away.

"You know what I'm going to ask, yes?" Okita waited for his lover to nod. "Then, look at me - if you love me . . ." Instead of looking up, the shorter man looked down - at the dead leaves instead.

"I do love you . . . Soushi . . . but, I don't want to destroy your parents' wishes. I told them I'd comply willingly, just so I could . . . so I could . . ." He trailed off, unable to tell Okita what he wanted to say to its true extent.

Grabbing a hold of his lover's arms, Okita demanded, "what did they say to you?"

"It's better off if you don't know and that our relationship remain . . . just so."

Getting down on his knees - Okita Soushi proposed to the man he loved, Seta Soujirou. "I, Okita Soushi, wish to be betrothed to you. Will you marry me?"

It broke Soujirou's heart that he looked hopeful - pleading almost. The brunette haired man shook his head. "I promised your parents that I'd never wed someone like you no matter what. I don't want to break that promise."

Okita grunted in disgust, punching the oak tree out of anger. Blood dripped from his knuckles when he pulled his hand away - blood smeared the bark of the giant tree.

"Your hand!" Soujirou took Okita's fist in his own. Okita took that chance to slip on a golden ring onto Soujirou's ring finger. The other man gasped, paling as he made a motion to take it off, but Okita stopped him. "I promised your parents . . . this isn't right."

Okita held onto Soujirou fiercely. He didn't want to let go in fear that he would lose him. Soujirou let his partner hold him as tears streamed down his cheeks. Okita was known to be kind, but he was awfully stubborn too. What really attracted Soujirou to this man was the way he'd always follow his heart - he lacked that, and realized that he'd never have that quality in himself.

"It doesn't matter what my parents said - they can't stop me from marrying you if you're willing to. If they wish to have more grandchildren they'd better expect them from Saitou. This may sound selfish of me, I think it's about time I don't try my best to please them anymore. Being with you was just the start of my own destiny - marrying you shall complete my journey, entwining our fates as well." Soujirou only managed to release a faint sob from his throat, mouth too dry to form words. "I know that in your past you weren't loved the way you should have been. Now that you've captured my heart . . . for this long - don't ever let go. I believe you deserve all of me no matter how you must obtain it . . . Forget about my parents' wishes - our life is our own."

Soujirou smiled then, a bittersweet one to say the least. He finally found his voice. "Never a better time to break traditions, huh?"

"Any time is a good time. Just go through the barrier."

Anyone can . . . and awkward situations never, ever end . . .

Chapter 11: END


	12. Chp 12: It's Always the Same

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Sorry for the lateness of updating . . . was and still super busy! Reviews are welcomed, I insist. XD

And also, I don't know Daigoro's last name, anyone know?

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 12: It's Always the Same

By: LadyYuina

The stench of the blanche, white-wash hospital room was seen through jade-green eyes. This simple room was so familiar - nothing had changed. The small window with it's dirty blue curtains pulled together to shine light through. The beautiful scenery outside - things beyond the glass changed constantly. It moved on but things within the confines of the glass were still. Inside this horrid room sat a girl - with a spirit as strong as any warrior, and a mind of gold. Her long brown tresses flowed evenly down her shoulders . . . today, she felt like braiding them.

The monitor beside her bed regulated the thumps of her heartbeat, looking for any signs of abnormality. Sometimes, there was and sometimes there wasn't a difference. Small wires with sticky suctions at the ends were pressed onto her breasts - keeping them close to her heart. Clasping the cross necklace in her hands, the girl silently prayed . . . she knew the outcome would be unchanged, though she kept wishing . . . hoping that a miracle would happen. For anything to happen . . .

"Magdaria, I've brought you some lunch."

Magdaria smiled, accepting the food from the spiky haired man. "Thank you, Sanosuke."

"It's not a problem, I'll do anything I can to help, but don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to baby you or anything. I know how much you hate that."

"At least you're not as overbearing as my brother," Magdaria noted. She took a bite out of the sandwich that came with Sanosuke's package.

"Don't compare me to him. I think we are very different!"

"Hehe, when it comes to me, you two aren't that different at all. But that's where the similarities end."

"That's because we both care about you so much." Sanosuke took Magdaria's can of soda - popping the lid for her. "Here you go."

"I could have opened that myself. I may look fragile, however, I am actually quite strong. The doctor had recommended for me to walk around a lot in which I did. It makes me feel good when I know I have some semblance of control."

"That's always good to know, I'd freak out if I learned that I'm not able to handle myself the way I wanted to anymore." Sanosuke sat down on a chair that was provided for quests. He scooted it over to Magdaria's bedside. "Like you said - you're a strong girl and I'm sure that you can handle most things that I cannot."

"Like what?" Magdaria challenged. "You are obviously stronger, taller, heavier, and wittier than I am."

"Don't just go for physical qualities, Magdaria. For example, I am scared to death of spiders, while you're fascinated by them, though I think girls shouldn't be. I'm not good at milking a cow, but you can do it well. I suck at math, and you're far more knowledgeable in that subject. You-"

Sanosuke was silenced when Magdaria placed two gentle fingers over his lips. "Shhhhh, Sanosuke. You don't have to take note of everything. I like it better if they were left unspoken."

A nurse interrupted their light conversation when she came in to warn Magdaria of her upcoming checkup. "Magdaria, please try and finish your lunch within ten minutes - your checkup will begin shortly."

"Okay." Without looking at the nurse or Sanosuke, Magdaria silently ate. Sanosuke watched her; she looked like she was in deep thought, he didn't want to bother her. Within five minutes tops she finished off her sandwich and drunk half the can of soda. In inhaled and exhaled loudly, slowly.

"Your chest is in pain?" Sanosuke asked. Magdaria nodded, while slightly wincing. "Is it bad?"

"No - I'll be fine. It's just a faint ache . . ." She placed a hand to her chest to feel the rate of her heartbeat. It was a little irregular, although not by too much.

A coughing fir started then, wracking her body vehemently as she was forced to throw up the sandwich she had previously devoured. Tears started to blur Magdaria's vision when she looked at the mushy food in her hands. Her body rejected Sanosuke's sandwich . . . she felt bad.

"Sanosuke . . . your food . . ."

"It's okay. I bought that anyway. Next time I'll make sure to buy something else." Flashing her a smile, he added, " if your body rejects something of mine, don't worry about it so much. You'll never hurt my feelings because I know you aren't doing it on purpose." Taking the soggy chewed up food from his friend's hands, he wrapped it in a napkin and threw it away.

--

Kaoru was glad that she had made it home in one piece last night. Yesterday was one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. She had actually sat in the bathroom for an hour until Misao found where Kenshin lived to come give her a pad. Kaoru was worried about how Kenshin felt about all this - she knew she caused him a lot of trouble. She wanted to repay him . . .

"Miss, I'd like a strawberry cream of this," a man ordered.

Kaoru broke out of her reverie, jotting down the appointed item. "Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Kaoru bustled around the tables of customers to get to the front and shout out her order. While it was being made she went to another customer. Shishio smiled brightly when the raven haired woman approached him, small notebook in hand.

"Good afternoon, Karou," he said, casually. "I thought I'd drop by for some chocolate cake."

"With what kind of topping?" Karou flipped the small notebook open - pen poised in between her hands. He replied, almonds. "Will that be all, sir?"

"Yes. Thanks a lot, Karou."

Shishio looked through a file listings that he had with him as he waited for his chocolate cake to arrive. As he scanned through the names his eyes stopped dead in their tracks when they landed on the name of Edokawa Daigoro. Shishio made a mental note to himself to look the man up because he was highly rated as a literate Japanese, as well as an English novelist.

"Here you are, sir," Kaoru said politely as she placed the plate of chocolate cake before the man. His eyes looked at the cake and then back at Kaoru. Kaoru gave him a funny look, but didn't say anything.

"Why are you acting like I'm a stranger?" he asked.

"Because that's my job - I call everyone sir or ma'am that come here looking for some service." Kaoru tucked the metal tray underneath one arm. "Are you really here to enjoy the cake or converse with me when I'm working?"

"You could say it's both." Shishio picked up a fork and forked himself a mouthful of the dark colored cake. Kaoru watched him eat for a moment before turning around. "Before you go - Id like to ask you something."

"What is it?" Kaoru didn't bother to face him.

"Edokawa Daigoro - have you heard of that man?"

"Of course! I love his books . . . Especially the one called "Endless Dream", I thought that story was mind boggling."

"Okay. Thank you for your time," Shishio said, he took another bite of the chocolate cake, continuing to look at the list of names he had with him.

"Got Edokawa Daigoro on your mind?" Shishio looked up to see Yumi. "Hi."

"Hey, Yumi."

"Mind if I take a seat?"

"Of course not."

"So - are you interested in the man because of his profound popularity?" Yumi asked. She tilted her glasses forward a little.

"Perhaps."

"I've met him before. Quite a clumsy guy, though he's fun to be around with. At his age I'm surprised that he already has so much fame. I think it overwhelms him."

"How old is he?"

"A sweet nineteen. He told me he had been writing his own stories ever since he was sixteen. His first book, being the one title, "Endless Dream". He told me it was based on himself . . . but when reporters ask him he denies it."

"Why?"

"I guess he doesn't want everyone to know the truth behind the story's plot - that it revolved around his life."

"So he felt he could trust you enough to tell you, huh?"

"I get along with people - you know that. I'm like the calm before the storm." Frowning, Shishio asked her what was that supposed to mean. "Hahaha, figure it out, Mr. Publisher. It's about time I leave, there's a storyboard meeting I must attend to. Sayonara."

"Bye," Shishio replied.

--

Magdaria laid out on the cold metal table as instructed by the doctor. She was told to not worry about what they were going to do to her, and that she stayed calm. She smirked, thinking that this must be a new doctor - she's had so many after Dr. Hiko that she couldn't remember. She missed that one doctor dearly, he looked buff and strong in nature, but he was actually really nice and gentle. Perhaps she'd meet up with him again one day as her doctor once more. Nothing in the hospital could scare her anymore - she'd been through them enough times to endure.

"We'll need to sedate you first, okay?" the doctor said to her reassuringly.

"Okay."

"Even when you're sedated you might feel some things, but don't be alarmed. This isn't a normal checkup . . ." Seeing the look on Magdaria's face, he added, "we'll have to cut open a . . ."

"I know doctor, thank you."

Magdaria closed her eyes, breathing in and out deeply, a gas mask was placed over her nose and mouth. Unclenching her hands she tried to calm her over reactive nerves. Her chest was still aching slightly, however, she didn't want to bother the doctor while he was working . . .

--

Kenshin was angry with himself - his two adopted sons had locked themselves in Naoto's room, refusing to leave or let anyone enter. Kenshin knew he had the key to their bedroom door, but he couldn't remember where he placed it.

"Dad - does this look better?" Kenji asked. Kenshin turned around to face his son, gasping at his change in appearance. All the black makeup and clothing were replaced with bright colorful ones. He had on a red t-shirt that had the words, 'You Don't Know Me Like I Do . . . So Bug Off'. He wore a jeans shorts that went right below his knees along with black and white sports' shoes. His hair was tied back in a high ponytail with a red hair tie.

"You look a lot better, Kenji!" Kenshin exclaimed. "Why this sudden change? I thought you were into the whole gothic thing."

"Nah, I only did that to piss mom off." Kenshin chuckled, but stopped when Kenji said, "life with mom wasn't as happy and lovey-dovey as you would think. It may appear like that, though in actuality mom was never there for me. So one day I thought to myself - why not dress up like a gothic to see how mom handles it? I did - she went mad with rage. That satisfied my need to get back at her so I continued to dress that way."

"So no more gothic from now on?"

"Nope. I'm through with that. I know I can count on you to always be there for me. You always were two years ago . . ."

"I'm sorry I wasn't of much help to you last year."

"It's all right - mom wouldn't have wanted you to come over to our house anyway."

"Hehe, I guess not."

"Dad."

"Hm?"

"Go talk to my little brothers, they need you right now."

"But, I-"

"I'll help you."

Chapter 12: END


	13. Chp 13: Talk

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Wow, I've been gone for a long time, haven't I? Now that I've updated I'd like to get feedback on what you guys think. This chapter is a little shorter than what I'm used to writing for this. Gotta get back into the groove of it all. XD

And one more thing, I know Hiko is older than what I put him as, but this is my story so I can do whatever I want to the characters. Muhahahaha! ;-D

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 13: Talk

By: LadyYuina

"How are you going to help me?" Kenshin looked at his son curiously.

"I'll help you open the bedroom door. Do you have a paper clip or a safety pin?" Kenshin rummaged through his work station and handed him a paper clip. "Although this wouldn't be necessary if you had the keys to their room, dad." Kenshin sweat dropped but didn't utter a word.

"Did you eat anything at all while I was at work?" Kenshin asked then, finally finding the voice to do so. Kenji nodded. "And what about you - why aren't you going to school?"

"I'm going to get transferred, mom said she's going to move me to a school that's closer to where you live."

"And when would that be?"

"She said I can start going to school again next week." He started to straighten the paperclip put.

"Okay."

"Also . . . she said she'll bring in the rest of my belongings when you have room for me . . ." Kenji fingered the paper clip nervously. "I'm still mad at mom for throwing me back into your life like this. I feel like I'm intruding somehow."

Kenshin shook his head - he was happy to be reunited with his son, but it pained him that his wife didn't return to him as well. From here on he suspected that he'd never have another dull moment in his life from all the upcoming problems.

"Come on, dad, I think Ietsuna and Naoto could really use some comfort right now. They asked me some questions earlier that I felt uncomfortable answering if you know what I mean."

--

_Kenji looked up from eating his bowl of Captain Crunch when he saw a mass of sky-blue hair at the end of the table. Clear, blue-set eyes focused on the hair until a head appeared. Calm blue met with troubled ocean colored ones._

"_Morning," Kenji said. He stared at Naoto for a while - he didn't know how to act around the child anymore since they had been apart for so long. "Uh, where's Ietsuna?"_

"_In the room - did you want to see him?" Naoto asked. The troubled look on his face never disappeared. _

"_Um, sure."_

"_I'll be back." Before he got far though, Naoto walked back a bit and asked, "are you eating Captain Crunch?" Kenji slowly nodded. "I like that cereal too, good choice."_

_Naoto soon came back with Ietsuna standing a little ways behind him. Kenji smiled at the both of them. He felt really out of place - like he didn't belong. At this very moment he wondered what his adopted brothers thought of him._

"_Is daddy gone?" Ietsuna whispered. He looked to Kenji for an answer. The brown haired youth nodded. "Did he leave us behind?"_

_Kenji gave the boy a funny look. What made the child think that their father ditched them? Was he still suffering from the abandonment that had occurred over two years ago? _

"_Ietsuna, our dad didn't leave us, he'll be back later. I promise."_

"_Yeah, Ietsuna . . . I'm sure he'll be back. Remember, daddy said he'll never leave us," Naoto said._

_Kenji admired the kid's desire to be strong for his sibling, but he knew that he didn't trust in himself fully - he couldn't completely believe what he was saying was true at all. The tone in his voice gave it away easily. Naoto was having doubts, too. Kenji felt like comforting both of his little brothers, though he didn't exactly know how._

"_Kenji . . . What does it feel like to be loved by your real father?" Naoto asked suddenly._

_Kenji was shocked - he didn't know how to answer that question. Naoto was looking very deeply into things, things that perhaps the boy shouldn't have to worry about. But anyone in their situation would wonder . . . They had both been abandoned by their parents for unknown reasons._

"_I-I can't really answer that." Kenji looked at his bowl of cereal, he was no longer hungry. "I don't think you should worry about that too much. Da . . . err . . . Kenshin may not be your real father, but he loves you and Ietsuna equally. The same goes for me even though we're blood related."_

"_He does not!" Ietsuna countered. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Kenshin does not love us equa-- equrally!"_

"_Equally," Naoto corrected for him._

"_I hate Kenshin! He's not our real daddy - he doesn't care about us like he said he did! He said mommy was the one that wanted to adopt us!"_

--

Kenshin waited as Kenji worked on the lock. He was standing there feeling extremely stupid that he had to reply on his son for something such as this. It was even more self-defeating to know that he couldn't make Naoto and Ietsuna open the door for him. A soft click was heard before Kenji moved aside - letting his father gain entry.

"I'll be in the living room watching TV." Kenji told his father.

"Okay, thanks, Kenji." Kenji merely shrugged and smiled sheepishly before walking away. Kenshin turned the knob and pushed the door open. The entire room was pitch back - he flicked on the light switch. Naoto and Ietsuna were huddled together on the bed. Ietsuna was fast asleep, yet Naoto was wide awake. He looked up at his foster father.

"Daddy?" He sounded rather surprised more than anything else.

"Yes, it's me. Are you all right?"

Naoto wasted no time in getting to the point. "When you and mommy adopted us, did you want us?"

"Of course I did. What I said yesterday was uncalled for, I was angry that was all." Kenshin looked at the younger sibling of the two. "Is your brother okay?" Naoto nodded. He continued to stare at him from his huddled position on the bed, Ietsuna had his arms around his brother's waist in a tight grip. If the situation wasn't so nerve wracking Kenshin would have smiled and thought they looked adorable that way.

"I'm glad I trust you because Kenji said you will never abandon us. I trust him, too."

Naoto found a new light for himself, not everything was as hopeless as it seemed.

Kenshin was on the verge of crying. He felt honored that Naoto trusted him so completely. He had heard of cases of children being snatched away from their foster parents because of their rejection to their guardians and surroundings. A mutual bond was evident in this family.

"Will Ietsuna be fine with this? Can you explain to him . . . no, I'll do it myself."

"Ietsuna is afraid of being alone . . ."

"I know. I'll try my best to make that fear go away as soon as he wakes up."

--

"How did the check-up go, Magdaria?" Misao asked. She propped herself up against a couch pillow and waved her legs up in the air. Kaoru sat by the base of the couch beside her on the floor; Magdaria sat on the opposite side on the other couch. The only thing that separated them was a coffee table.

"It went well although I got a new doctor again," Magdaria said forlornly. "I just get tired of hearing them explain the same thing over and over to me."

"Do you have a certain doctor that tends to you or do you always get new ones?" Misao asked.

"Not always. My doctor is Mr. Hiko, but he wasn't here today."

"Mr. Hiko . . . I've never heard of him before," Kaoru stated. "What's he like?"

A light blush crawled up Magdaria's face as she described him. "He's really tall with long jet-black hair that he ties back in a ponytail all the time. He has warm, gentle brown eyes and a big smile. He's also really nice."

"How old is he?" Misao's interest perked up ten-fold. "He sounds really hot!"

"Forty-three."

"Forty-three - whoa, never mind."

"Don't fret, Misao, he looks a lot younger than you think. If you see him in person he could pass off as a twenty-seven-year-old, even twenty-six."

"I'd like to see him one day," Misao swooned. "He must be really cute! Probably has a baby face!"

"What about Aoshi?" Kaoru asked.

"I haven't forgotten about him - the chances of Aoshi and I getting together is very thin, right?" Kaoru nodded ruefully. "Hiko is a lot older, but I just wanna see him for now, we'll see what happens from there. Only thing I'm wondering is when I'm gonna get to see him."

"Never," Kaoru teased. Misao frowned but said nothing in retort. "That reminds me, Magdaria," Kaoru turned to face her fully and ignored Misao, "a friend of mine said she'd like to meet you."

"Me?" Large jade-green eyes blinked several times.

"Your name intrigued her - she thought you sounded like an interesting person. She's also a novelist by the way," Kaoru explained. "Maybe she could write a book about you. You know, do an autobiography!"

"I don't think that is necessary if it comes to that. My life isn't interesting at all. All my life, I haven't done anything exciting."

"An autobiography! That's a good idea!" Misao interrupted. "Yumi could write one and Shishio could publish it!"

"It'd be a bestseller I bet, "Kaoru happily concluded.

"It will be! It'll be the best!" Misao added.

Magdaria watched her two friends talk about a book that she had no desire to create whatsoever. To them - it was an exciting aspect, but to the sick woman - it was just a piece of her life that she'd rather have unwritten. Besides, who'd want to read about her life anyway.

"If she does decide to do an autobiography would you agree to it?" Kaoru asked Magdaria. The brunette haired youth looked uncertain. "You should, it'd be a great experience and your life will be known."

"I don't care about popularity, Kaoru, I'd rather stay in private," Magdaria said. "I feel uncomfortable with showing myself to the public."

"There's no need to be sky, Magdaria, I'm pretty sure that people would love to read things about you," Misao encouraged.

"I don't want to."

"Come on."

"I said I don't want to, Misao! Now please leave it at that!" Misao was stunned. Magdaria turned angry jade-green eyes on her. "Don't push it - I'm already stressed out as it is. My life is my own and I don't need people prying into it!"

"I'm sorry . . ." Kaoru looked to Misao. Recovering, Misao lowered her head in shame. She hadn't thought much about her friend's feelings. She just wanted her to gain fame: did she just want to be friends with a popular person? Did she want attention showered upon her?

"I'm sorry, too," Kaoru added. "I shouldn't have mentioned the subject."

"It's all right. You two didn't mean any harm, but the both of you went a little overboard with your ideas. An autobiography is a nice thing, however it's okay that I will not be remembered by hundreds of people."

"If you ever change your mind - I wish you the best of luck in creating your legacy. I mean life is short you know," Kaoru said.

"Life is short." Magdaria clasped a hand around the small cross she wore as a necklace. Whispering, she added, "life is too short for me."

Chapter 13: END


	14. Chp 14: I'm Coming In

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: I'm back . . . Read and review. Thank you.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 14: I'm Coming In

By: LadyYuina

"You mean you can remember where he lives? What the hell, Misao! We were just there the other day!" Kaoru shrieked.

"Chill out, girl. Why do you want to know where he lives anyway?" Misao sweat dropped when Kaoru started to blush furiously. Her friend was taking this a little too seriously. "Is it because of you becoming drunk, and going to his house, and then leaking and staining his couch covering?"

"Yes . . . I need to thank him somehow!" Kaoru threw her arms up in the air in frantic movements. "Not to mention I should buy him another cover for the couch . . ."

"Go ask Aoshi; you told me he and Kenshin are friends."

"I don't want to have anything to do with that horrible man. He took away my job," Kaoru replied.

"I could ask him for you," Misao interjected intentionally. "I'll get to see his cutie-pie face!"

"On second thought - I'll ask him myself. You'd probably just stare at him and drool until the security guards come to haul you out."

"Hehe, I guess you're right." Misao stuck out her tongue playfully.

-----

Soujirou nervously followed behind Okita while glancing at the ring on his finger occasionally. "Are you sure your parents will take this situation lightly? I--"

"I'll handle everything. You just sit there and be quiet, okay?"

"Okita, Soujirou, may you two come over here for a minute?" Megumi asked, when she spotted them talking to one another. Soujirou sighed in relief for the disruption. The confrontation - at least for now - with Okita's parents was stalled.

"Yes, Megumi, what is it that you need?" Soujirou asked all too cheerfully. Megumi then piled his arms with bundles of bandages. "Um, what do you want me to do with these?" "Put them in my car, will you? A friend of mine is running low on her supply."

"All-all right."

"Okita, I need you to help me move these boxes to the storage room."

"What's in these?" he asked.

"Medicine - there are many types, but I won't list them off. I will only bore you to death."

When Okita was done with his task he found Soujirou sitting on the stony pathway by Megumi's car. He was looking at the ring Okita had given him, and was humming something softly to himself. What he did next hurt Okita - Soujirou slipped the ring off his finger. He looked at it forlornly . . . like an object that he didn't care for. This made Okita doubt his lover's commitment to him.

He decided to make his presence known by saying, "so there you are, Soujirou!" He watched the other man carefully as he slipped the ring back on, while trying to keep the object and his hands hidden from view.

"Uh, Okita . . ."

"Why are you out here by yourself? I thought you'd gone back in the house already." Okita came towards his lover and pulled him up by the hands. "It's cold out here - you might catch a cold."

"I won't. I just thought I'd stay out here and get some fresh air," Soujirou explained. "No matter how spacious a home is it can get stuffy inside."

"Sou-chan . . ."

"Yes?" He saw Okita eyeing the hand with the ring so he moved it behind his back.

"Do you doubt me?" Soujirou frowned out of confusion. "My love for you - do you doubt that or are you trying to follow by my parents' wishes?" Peering closly into his lover's eyes, he added softly, "are you scared of getting married to another man?"

"Okita, you know I'm bisexual, but . . ."

"Which reason is it? Tell me."

Okita had nailed down two reasons why Soujirou was afraid, but Okita only asked for one response in return. So he'll give him one answer . . . which choice would be better to tell him, though? Should he tell him another reason completely unrelated to his?

"I wish to oblige by your parents' wishes. I know you've been through this with me before, but I don't want to ruin your future."

"You aren't going to ruin my future; you're going to help me shape it. Remember the day we got together?"

"Y-yeah . . ."

"Remember me telling you that we'll carve our future together? Just like writing a story that is waiting to be written?" Soujirou nodded - eyes brimming over with tears. "I'm trying you make it a reality - I don't want this to be a dream forever when I can make this happen with you."

"All this sweet talk is nice, however it will not swoon me to side with you. You forget - I am not a woman and neither am I as sentimental as you think," Soujirou pointed out.

"I want to marry you, dammit! Is that too much to ask? We've been together for five years now! We're not getting any younger; I want to marry you because I love you more than anything! I've been faithful to you all these years . . . waiting for the right time to propose!"

Megumi walked in on them again. She looked from one man to the other - the both of them appeared to be upset and Soujirou was standing there crying. "Err . . . am I interrupting something? If you'll both excuse me, I need to get in my car and be on my way."

When Megumi left Okita continued his ranting. "I told you we'll break the barrier of Japanese traditions. It can be broken any time on any day."

"Japanese tradition runs deep within me as it does of you. I feel a strong sense of unjust when I think about breaking away from it all," Soujirou explained. He ran a hand through his silky, soft hair. The engagement ring on his finger glistened underneath the sunlight. "It feels too wrong."

"Before," Okita kept his gaze on Soujirou's raised arm, "you took off the ring."

Soujirou looked alarmed. "You saw me?"

"Yes. I think there's more to this than only abiding by my parents' wishes."

"There is . . . I'm scared to marry you." Soujirou couldn't help but frown at the hurt look Okita was giving him. "Having kids was a big dream of mine - it isn't possible with you."

"Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. We can adopt; don't fret over what my parents will say. Whatever they come up with will not matter."

"It's the child I am worried about. How will the child feel having two dads and no mom? I fear the child will be raised resenting us."

"Stop being so pessimistic. All bad things must come to an end."

"As of all good," Soujirou countered.

Okita hugged Soujirou to himself. He only focused on the warmth of the man he was embracing. He wanted to marry him and he wouldn't stop until he got his way. It was a selfish act, and yet he wanted it badly.

-----

"You know what - let's go back," Kaoru said, changing her mind.

Misao grabbed her ponytail, thus preventing her from moving. "You're going in! You can't despise that man forever! Call a truce or something, and besides you need information from him!"

People working around the area gave them curious glances, but no one dared approached the wild looking girls.

"I don't care anymore; let's just get the hell out of here." Kaoru tried to walk again, but her ponytail restricted her from moving anywhere. "Misao, release me!"

"Nah-uh, you're coming with me, because if I'm going in you're coming in with me!"

Before Kaoru knew it she was standing before Aoshi's office door which used to belong to her. Misao kept a firm grip on her ponytail lest she tried to get away. Some of the employees were giving them funny looks.

Kaoru unwillingly knocked. A gruff voice said, "come in."

Aoshi found himself face to face with Kaoru again. This time he wondered what she was here for. "Can I help you two ladies with anything?" The girl beside Kaoru squealed which made him quirk an eyebrow up at her. Her eyes sparkled brightly as she looked back at him. Aoshi sweat dropped from her intense gaze. "

Aoshi . . . you know how we are always fighting over everything?"

"Yes."

"Well, how about we call it quits and become friends. When I really think about it I think it's silly to be acting this way. We're mature adults, right?"

"I am, although I am unsure about you."

"Why you--" Aoshi watched as the woman with the long braid clamped a hand over Kaoru's mouth. He vaguely remembered her.

"You okay? Calm down - when I release my hand on the count of three you'll be fine?" Kaoru nodded rather slowly. "Kaoru . . ." She nodded quickly this time. "Okay, one . . . two . . . three . . ."

Misao let go.

"I'll call it a truce with you if you don't have outrageous outbursts like that. It's quite annoying, Kaoru."

"Fine . . . Is the truce in effect now?"

"Yes, from here on we can be friends."

"See, everything's settled!" Misao happily patted Kaoru on the back. "Now ask him!"

"Ask me what?"

"Erm . . . hmmm . . ." Kaoru started to blush as she fumbled for the words to use. "Can you . . . err . . . tell me where Kenshin lives?"

"Kenshin?" Aoshi leaned forward in his seat. "Why do you want to know where he lives? From my view of his reaction towards you, he doesn't like you very much."

Kaoru winced. "I can understand that. The things I've done to him you can't say it's appeasable. I want to apologize to him . . ."

"Apologies. Is that all you can come up with?" Aoshi smugly remarked. Kaoru could feel her anger rising, however she knew better than to take the bait. "That's not all . . . I have other plans."

"Oh?"

"Just tell me where he lives! Stop playing around!" Kaoru shouted.

Aoshi merely smiled and told her the directions. Kaoru made a mental note of it, and told herself that she'd remember where he lived since Misao wasn't of any help. Satisfied with what she got Kaoru and Misao left the icy man's office.

"You're going to visit him now?" Misao asked.

"Yes, and I do not need you to come with me. It'd be best if you went home."

"Okay, okay, I hear ya. You gotta drop me off though." Misao handed Kaoru her car keys.

"When did you get these from me?" Kaoru asked, overly surprised.

"When I was yanking your hair - you were too occupied to get away that I slid my hand into your purse and simply took it. It was real easy."

"Agile and small - the traits of a ninja," Kaoru teased.

"You wish!" Misao stood on her tipsy-toes and tried to broaden her shoulders. "I'm not small; I may be swift but I am not small! I'm taller than you!" Kaoru pushed her friend sideways which caused her to lose her balance. Luckily she didn't fall or else that would have been an embarrassing display of a woman's grace. "Hey, be careful where you're shoving me! I could have bumped into someone!"

"Hahaha, right." Kaoru slapped her friend on the back which caused Misao to let out a little squeak. "You're quite the ninja!"

"Shut up! I never said I was a ninja! You said that!"

"I can see it now: clumsy ninja girl Makimachi Misao on the big screens! People would laugh and make fun of the girl on the monitor!"

"How about emotional, irrational, and annoying girl Kamiya Kaoru! The crowd would talk about this movie for days saying how bad it sucked!"

"I am not emotional, irrational, and annoying!"

"I'm sure Aoshi agrees with me on this."

"Don't go including him - this is between us!" Misao ran out of the parking lot with Kaoru chasing after her.

Chapter 14: END


	15. Chp 15: Detailed Conversation

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 15: Detailed Conversation

By: LadyYuina

It started to rain as Kaoru drove to Kenshin's home with the directions that were given to her by Aoshi. She hoped he didn't trick her in any way . . . She cursed lightly under her breath when she had to run up Kenshin's driveway to the front door to escape the heavy downpour as soon as possible. Before she could even knock someone opened the door.

"Oh, it's you," Kenji said. Kaoru stared at him with startled blue eyes. "Can I help you with something?"

"Is Kenshin home?" Kaoru looked at Kenji and then beyond the door above his head. Naoto and Ietsuna were standing a little ways off. It was a bright Saturday morning - well, rainy morning and none of the children had school.

"He's home - wanna come in?" Kenji moved aside for her to enter, but she hesitated. She was so sure of herself, yet now she started doubting her own motives when she had actually made it all the way here in the stinking rain. Just like when she was so sure about asking Aoshi - at that time she had also changed her mind. "Are you going to stand here or come in?"

"Oh! Uh, I'll come in." When Kaoru was inside she glanced around her surroundings. There were two small love couches on either wall that were a dirty red color with a painting above each one. A corner of the living room housed a tall potted plant that sat next to a large t.v. Kaoru didn't know the exact size, but she guessed 50 inches in length and 48 inches in width. The last time she was here she was too drunk to notice anything. There were more furnishings; however, she didn't bother to note them.

"Ietsuna, mind getting dad? Tell him someone is here to see him," Kenji said. Ietsuna obeyed as he walked to his father's bedroom. Kenshin soon appeared with his son holding him by the hand.

"Hi," Kaoru meekly greeted. She was unsure of how to act around Kenshin. Seeing him made her heart beat faster - this never happened before.

"Come on guys, dad needs to be alone for a while." Kenji herded the kids into his new room which used to be Ietsuna's. This was due to the fact that Tomoe had brought all of Kenji's things over yesterday when he called her and told her his father had a room ready for him. Kenshin had the courtesy to meet her new fiancé as well.

--

_"I've brought all of Kenji's belongings. Akira will help move things." _

_Before his ex-wife could walk away Kenshin held her in place by firmly grasping her left arm. There was a hint of jealousy in his voice when he spoke. "Who's Akira?" _

_"Kiyosato Akira - he's my fiancé. Now please release me because I have work to do." _

_"Hey there, sport, how's it been going with your dad?" Kenshin looked to his right to see Kenji being patted on the head by a tall, lean man. Kenji acknowledged the man, but he did not smile. "What's the matter, Kenji? Can't smile for your mom's pal?" _

_"She's not your pal," Kenji murmured. Kenshin could see his fists coiling so tightly together that his knuckles turned a whitish color. "If you can't say the word fiancé around me then I suggest you leave me alone." _

_Akira let out an annoying laugh as he removed his hand away from Kenji's head. "Okay, finance - I won't say pal anymore, hm?" _

_"I need to get something from your car, so excuse me." Kenshin watched as his son walked around the corner of the car and disappeared. Kenshin decided to approach the man then. _

_"H-hello . . ." Kenshin greeted. Akira turned to him. "You're Kiyosato Akira, correct?" _

_"Yes, that's me. And you must be Himura Kenshin." The red-head nodded. "Well, it's nice to meet you! Your son Kenji looks just like you! Very striking image, and he has a sharp tongue to boot!" _

_"Thank you for the compliments if that's what you could call them," Kenshin replied. _

_Just then Kenji came back around from the car - he looked at his dad for a moment before handing him a box. "Can you help me carry some of these?" he asked. _

_"I can help," Akira offered. _

_"Thanks for the offer, but my dad has it covered." _

_Kenshin smiled - he knew his son disliked the man just as much as he did even though the man was stupid enough to be oblivious to the fact. He was also sure that Tomoe knew their son didn't like her fiancé, but perhaps she decidedly said nothing about it to Akira. _

--

"Why is daddy with another woman?" Naoto asked. "Isn't she like mommy?"

"I don't know yet, Naoto, you need to let dad fall in love with her first to find out."

"Fall in love? What does that mean?" Ietsuna asked.

"It means when someone likes another person," Naoto explained, "they become more close. I learned this from Aoshi."

"Aoshi told you something like that?" Kenji looked incredulously at Naoto - he'd never expected the child to hear something like that from a stony-faced, cold person.

"Is that weird?" Naoto looked to his older brother for an answer. "I don't think Aoshi is weird."

"Aoshi isn't weird . . . What he said was kind of weird, but . . . I mean to hear him say something like that is weird."

"Oh."

--

"Where's Kaoru?" Magdaria looked behind Misao in case Kaoru was lagging behind.

"She's busy at the moment. I've brought some cookies. Want some?"

"What kind is it?" Magdaria looked at it curiously.

"Coconut filled cook--"

"I'm allergic to coconut."

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Since you can't eat those wanna go out and try more Japanese food?" Magdaria nodded and Misao smiled. "Tae has a lot of dishes, let's go to the Akabeko - she'll give us a discount because I am a regular costumer there."

"Okay."

When they arrived there they were greeted warmly by a little girl named Tsubame. Her short brown hair came to the nape of her neck and she had large brown eyes. Magdaria smiled down at the child as she blushed furiously while leading them to a table. She used to be that way, too.

--

_"Don't be shy, Sayo, go say hi to your neighbor," her mother encouraged her. _

_"I don't want to . . . I'm scared." _

_"I'll come with you," her brother told her reassuringly. _

_Magdaria looked at her neighbor's home, the outside looked warm and peaceful, but she was afraid of the people inside. How would they react when they found out about her illness? _

_Magdaria let herself be dragged by her brother as they approached their neighbor's front yard. Magdaria stopped there then, not wanting to go any further. Shougo squeezed her hand gently and egged her on; when they came to the door Shougo pressed the doorbell. A girl with long orange-colored hair and large turquoise-colored eyes opened it. She smiled when she saw Magdaria and her brother. _

_"Hi! You two must be our neighbors! I'm Yumi!" she greeted. _

_"I'm Shougo and she's Sayo," Shougo replied when his sister said nothing. "It's nice to meet you, Yumi. I hope you and Sayo can become good friends." _

_"I'm eleven. How old are you?" Yumi asked. _

_"I'm eleven, too." Magdaria smiled. _

_"All right! I have someone my own age to play with now! Come on in, let's start now!" _

--

"What is this?" Magdaria looked at the clear broth full of tofu and shrimp.

"That's Sumashi Wan - it's really good." Misao took a sip of her broth before looking up. Tae came to their table.

"How are you girls enjoying your meal? I heard Misao has a special friend so I thought I'd come meet her." Looking to Magdaria, she continued, "you must be Amakusa Magdaria?"

"Yes, that's me."

"What a pretty young lady you are!" Magdaria blushed and looked away. "Misao has told me that you've never tried a lot of Japanese cuisines. I'd more than happy to let you try all the recipes I know. Just come back everyday and you'll get a new dish until I run out of recipes."

"Um, thank you, but I think my brother would enjoy those dishes just as much."

"You have a brother? That's not a problem; I'd be happy to serve him, too!" Tae then perked her ears up to the distant sounds of crying. "I gotta be on my way now, Rina need me. Enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you, we will." Magdaria and Misao called after Tae's retreating form.

"You're surrounded by very nice people. It must be nice to be loved by many," Magdaria made note of.

Yeah, it's a nice feeling. You have a lot of people that love you too, right?"

Magdaria frowned for a moment before happily smiling. "I've had a lot of people love me, but not anymore."

"Eh? Why?" Misao stopped eating to give her undivided attention to her friend.

"When I was a little girl the church that my relatives and friends attended was bombed because of some grudge an outsider had against one of the of worshippers. It was a bright Sunday morning when the priest was doing a sermon. It all happened so suddenly . . . many people were killed, several were injured - including me."

"I'm so sorry . . ."

"At the hospital I was deemed dead for twelve seconds."

"Twelve seconds?" Misao repeated in disbelief.

"Yes. My heart stopped beating . . . At that time my heart was weak and it always has been so the doctors thought I died from the bomb's impact."

"You're very lucky."

"I've escaped death three times total--"

"Wow!" Noticing that she interrupted Misao cleared her throat and politely asked her friend to continue.

"--The first time it was twelve seconds, second time - forty seconds, and the third time it was nine seconds. I can't tell you how scared my brother was at those critical moments - I'm all that he has. If I die I'll be sad that he has no one left from our family."

Misao didn't know how to comfort Magdaria in this situation so she said nothing, but simply nod her head in understanding. It had only been two weeks prior from whence their friendship blossomed, and yet she was already telling Misao things that she knew Magdaria must have been uncomfortable in saying. However, this proved how much she trusted Misao - did she trust Kaoru just as much?

"If you don't mind me asking . . . How did you almost die three times?"

"It has to do with my heart condition. There is no known cure so patients can only get new healthly hearts in the hopes of their body not rejecting the once-in-a-life-time gift. I've had a heart transplant two times already - I can say that I'm really lucky to have the operation done twice. Most people only get to do it once or never get to at all due to the lack of organ donors nationwide." Magdaria bit at her lower lip tentatively before speaking about her doctor. "My doctor, Mr. Hiko, is a very special man. He was the one that made it possible for me, but I'm angry at myself."

"Why?"

"My body keeps rejecting the hearts that I've received. I feel bad for the donors and other patients as well, because my body destroys the heart so it'll no longer be useful to anyone else."

"Whose heart do you have right now?" Misao couldn't help asking this question even though she knew she was stepping out of her boundaries in terms of questions.

Magdaria thoughtfully answered, "my own and I'll die with it. I can't get any more transplants and I don't see the point why."

Misao was surprised by the girl's bold nature. She told Misao everything about her illness - starting from when she was a child. She even told her how she lost her family and friends. Misao knew there were things that she might have left out, but it didn't matter. She'd heard enough. Misao now felt a stronger need to help her sick friend in any way she could.

"All I can say is that I will become a donor so when it comes for me to die I will be happy knowing I'm helping someone else with my organs."

Magdaria smiled.

Chapter 15: END


	16. Chp 16: Tell Me

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 16: Tell Me

By: LadyYuina

"What brings you here?" Kenshin asked of her.

"I came to apologize, and before you say anything . . . all I ever say is an apology so I want to add something to that. How about I take you out for dinner?" She looked at him reproachfully.

"My kids--"

"Oh, your kids . . . um, they can come too, if they'd like," Kaoru intervened.

"That's not what I meant. I was about to say that my kids want to go to the movies so I wasn't going to go with you."

Kaoru felt like such an idiot. I shouldn't try to be an empath! I can't tell what he's going to say - why did I cut him off like that? "Err . . . can we have dinner tomorrow, then? After all that I've done to you I at least insist that I treat you out to dinner."

"I can't tomorrow. I have a tight schedule."

Kaoru frowned at Kenshin. Is he trying to avoid me? He should know that he's making me more determined to go through with this! Right when Kaoru was about to say something Kenji walked up to them.

"Dad, the kids and I have decided that we don't want to see the movie anymore. Go have dinner with . . .", Kenji stopped in mid-sentence to ask, ". . . what's your name again?"

"Kaoru . . ." She knew he had been eavesdropping!

"Kaoru. I think you deserve this, dad." Kenji winked at his father, making him wonder what his son was getting at. "Don't worry about Ietsuna and Naoto, because I'll baby-sit them."

"You're not old enough to--"

"Dad," Kenji heaved at him an exasperated sigh, "I'm thirteen! There's nothing to worry about; I know where all the escape routes are, and of course I know what to dial for the police."

Kenshin smiled - Kenji really wanted him to go, but he didn't know what to expect from the other two. He wanted to get confirmation from them as well; although, this felt rather strange to him because it reminded him of when he was younger and needed to ask his parents' permissions to go hang out with friends after school. When Kenshin left the living room Kenji directed his attention towards Kaoru.

"You like my dad, don't you?"

Kaoru was flabbergasted. This kid sure knew how to ask questions when he wanted short, curt answers. ". . . I guess."

"Don't say: 'I guess', it's either a yes or no," Kenji stated.

Kaoru sweat dropped - this boy was even more straightforward than she was! Clearing her throat, Kaoru replied, "I suppose I like your father so it's a yes." As soon as she said this Kaoru could feel her cheeks heating up. Her heartbeat became rapid in pace.

Kenji smirked. "Your reaction says it all; have a good time, okay?"

When Kenshin came to her side again Kenji had already disappeared into the kitchen. Kaoru couldn't help but wonder if Kenji was actually an angel in disguise trying to match her up with someone. Like the red-head standing before her for instance. Kenshin's voice broke Kaoru out of her thoughts.

"Oddly enough Ietsuna and Naoto told me to have a good time. It makes me wonder if Kenji said something to them."

Kaoru let out a nervous giggle. "Don't worry about the kids. I think going out will do you a whole lot of good!" For reasons unknown Kaoru knew she liked this man and she was going to try her best to make him like her despite of what he'd seen about her. He happened to catch her at the wrong times - she'd show him just how much of a good girl she could be.

-----

"Are you sure we should've let daddy go like that?" Naoto asked, brows furrowing at the same time. "What if daddy falls in love with that woman?"

"Don't you want that to happen?" Naoto shook his head and Ietsuna did the same. "Why not, guys? Don't you want dad to be happy?"

"Daddy is happy with us," Ietsuna reasoned.

"Tomoe hurt daddy and we don't want that to happen again," Naoto explained.

Kenji noted that they didn't call Tomoe 'mom' anymore, but called her by her given name. It was understandable that they didn't like his mom - even he hates her. Naoto and Ietsuna came from different backgrounds than him so he had no idea how abandonment really felt like. Perhaps their parents had issues, too?

Noticing the marks on Ietsuna's arm for the first time, Kenji asked, "where did you get those marks on your arm? Did an animal bite you?"

Ietsuna gasped then. "Ms. Oigawa is coming to check up on us tomorrow! I forgot to tell daddy!"

"Huh? What does this Ms. Oigawa have to do with dad?" Kenji asked.

"She's the check-up lady that visits kids' homes to see how they are doing. We can't let her see my arm - if she thinks something bad has happened she might take us away."

"How do you know this?" Kenji was looking at them both questioningly. "Has it happened to the two of you before?"

They both shook their heads - Naoto spoke up. "At Haruka's Agency, Ietsuna and I have a friend there - he got adopted and then was sent back. When we saw him he had bruises all over his body. It looked very nasty."

"Strange . . . people with a violent history shouldn't be able to adopt children so easily if any at all. Anyway, weren't you scared when dad and mom were going to adopt the both of you?"

"I was," Ietsuna admitted whilst quickly fiddling with his thumbs, "but Naoto was right, daddy is a good man. Ms. Oigawa was right, too."

I think we can cover up those marks with some powder," Kenji said. "But where would we even get the powder . . .?"

-----

Kenshin picked at his salad - he didn't have the stomach to eat knowing that his children were home alone. If Tomoe had been there he would have been more at ease. If she was still with him he wouldn't even be going out to dinner with this woman!

"Something wrong? I noticed you've been picking at your food . . ." Kaoru made note of. "If it's not to your liking you can order something else."

'That's not it. I'm just worried about my kids, especially Ietsuna." Kenshin gave her a half-hearty smile that literally meant nothing to her if he were to look at her the way he did now.

"Is your wife not at home to watch them?" Kaoru liked this man, but she definitely knew he had a wife.

Kenshin wanted to share the story of his life with someone; he hadn't said anything for so long . . . he needed a release. "She's no longer with us . . ."

"Oh, no! Did she pass away?" Kaoru stopped eating to give her full attention to the sodden-looking man before her. Her clear blue eyes were filled with compassion; he had never seen this side of her before.

Kenshin couldn't help but laugh at the woman's seriousness. Kaoru frowned and asked what was so funny. Kenshin openly admitted in a way that his phrase could have been interpreted as a dead wife - not divorced. "We're divorced. I'm sorry to have given you the wrong impression."

Kaoru's compassionate eyes turned to electric blue anger. Kenshin was taken aback by her sudden change in mood - it was so quickly, too! This woman knew how to throw her weight around . . . this was yet another habit of her being a former business woman. "Let me get this straight: did you walk out on her, or did she do it to you?"

As nosy as Kaoru sounded Kenshin felt the urge to answer her truthfully. "She left, thus taking my son with her for one whole year until she got sick of him and dumped him onto me."

"And which son would that be?"

"Kenji. The dark brunette-haired one. He has an attitude that even I can contend with." Kaoru laughed while nodding - she completely agreed. "In retrospect, Kenji didn't like her too much either. Perhaps she wasn't tolerant enough to rear a child very well."

"What do you mean? You have three children, don't you?" Kaoru asked in a confused sounding voice.

"Two were adopted: Ietsuna and Naoto. After Tomoe and I had our first child she got her tubes tied. She swore she wouldn't want another child or go through the pains of child birth again."

"Then why adopt more?"

Kaoru was prodding; yet, Kenshin wanted to continue. "The idea was hers. She one day suddenly told me that she wanted more children . . ."

"Must have been an aspiration of some sort," Kaoru muttered. "Some women are like that."

"It saddened me that she wanted to divorce one year after adopting Ietsuna and Naoto. When they first arrived at our home they were only six and seven, but that had been a year before my divorce."

"How sad - I hope I don't offend you, but your wife is a bitch." Kaoru was enraged that she'd abandon her adopted children when it was she who wanted to adopt them in the first place. "How did Naoto and Ietsuna, especially Kenji feel about the split?"

"I have no idea." Kaoru cocked an eyebrow at him. "Kenji wasn't with me and Naoto and Ietsuna seemed indifferent to it all. Ietsuna, by nature, has always been a needy child . . . I'm assuming that's what drove my wife away."

"Define needy: like to what extent?"

Hell, I should tell her everything since I've already told her this much.

"Let me start from the beginning." Both of their salad bowls became forgotten as Kenshin and Kaoru immersed themselves in a deep, emotional conversation. "Ietsuna was a bit frightened when we first brought him home. He took longer to adjust than Naoto. His neediness didn't show as I had expected it would since the agency that's in charge of him said he'd show it as soon as he felt comfortable where he was. He got quite comfortable around me; in other words, his need for attention started to span as he'd approach me with things to do. Also, I am not letting it slip that he only came to me when he wanted to play with someone other than Naoto. So one day, I asked him to play with his mother and the smile disappeared from his face completely."

(Flashback)

"Daddy is tired today; why don't you ask mommy to play with you?" Ietsuna's eager smile faded away much like a flower instantly wilting in a pot full of flames. "What's the matter, Ietsuna?"

"Mommy doesn't like to play with me. She doesn't like to play with anyone . . ."

"That's understandable, Ietsuna. Some adults don't like to play . . ."

But she used to play with Kenji all the time when he was little. I wonder what made her change?

"Mommy is mean! I know that she doesn't like me so I'll stay with you forever, daddy!" Kenshin let out a small "oof" when Ietsuna hugged him tightly around his middle. "Mommy is very, very mean! I saw her hit Naoto the other day, and she said he was an insulin child!"

"Insolent? Naoto . . . insolent?" Even though Ietsuna pronounced it incorrectly he knew what he was trying to say.

He's not like that at all. What's gotten into her?

"Naoto is hurt! Now Ms. Oigawa is going to take him away! I don't want mommy to hit him anymore! I don't want mommy to be mean anymore!" Ietsuna was crying uncontrollably as Kenshin hugged the child close to himself.

"I'll go talk to your mother, okay?" Kenshin whispered. Ietsuna clung onto him more tightly. "Ietsuna--"

"No! She'll hit you, too! I don't want you to get hurt like Naoto; I'll protect the three of us!"

Kenshin smiled at Ietsuna's courageous words. Even as he said them he was shivering so badly that Kenshin was really concerned with his wife's behavior. "Where's Naoto?"

"He said he's healing himself."

"Where is he though?"

"I can't tell you because he wants to heal in secret."

Thoughts about conversing with his wife was out of his mind quickly. Concern for Naoto came forth. "What if his injury is serious? Tell me where he is, Ietsuna. And please let go - I need to go find him." Ietsuna wouldn't relent to his wishes so he simply picked him up and went touring around the house. All the while that he did this the child has his face buried between the crook of his neck and shoulder, he refused to talk or help look. Naoto was nowhere to be found, and Tomoe was watching t.v. in the living room.

Kenshin pursed his lips together. "Where's Naoto, Tomoe?"

"How the hell should I know? That little brat must have run off somewhere. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Kenshin continued to look until he found the sky-blued haired child out in the backyard behind some tall vegetables. He was covered in mud while sitting in a hunched position on the dirt floor. Bruises lined the side of Naoto's left cheek - his left eye was so swollen that it was almost completely shut. Both of his arms had green bruises here and there, and there was a minor scratch on his right leg which was probably caused by the vegetation in the yard.

"Naoto . . ." Kenshin let Ietsuna down from his hold. Ietsuna then kneeled by his brother's side.

"Why did you tell daddy! I wanted to heal by myself, remember?"

Getting defensive, Ietsuna spurted, "I didn't tell him!"

(Flashback:END)

_Always acting grown up . . . before you know it you'll be an old man._

_Aoshi is my role-model. I don't care if you call him a prick._

Chapter 16: END


	17. Chp 17: Visits, To Come and Go

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: I felt that this chapter was sorta boring. You'll all probably agree . . . However, please do read and review. XD

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 17: Visits, To Come and Go

By: LadyYuina

"Hmmm . . . I've heard of a case similar to yours on the news before. It was far more extreme though. A German woman beat her adopted child to death because she couldn't put up with the child's behavior. In Naoto's case though, I don't see why your wife would beat him. Ietsuna is the needy one, no?"

"I don't know why she beat him. She wouldn't tell me and the day after that incident she filed for a divorce. Naoto was almost taken back to the custody of the adoption agency, but I managed to keep him with me . . . somehow . . ."

"Life must have been like a hazy dream, huh? Everything was happening so fast, wasn't it?"

Kenshin nodded. "More or less - I'm done eating. Are you?"

"Yeah. I'll pay since it was me who invited you out to dinner."

"Thank you for the meal."

"Hey, it was not a problem; I even got to know you better and you're a pretty good guy."

"From the view of my children?" Kenshin asked incredulously.

Mimicking Kenshin, she said, "more or less. Tonight was fun - how about we do this again some other time?"

"Are you implying on a date?"

"Of course, you're cute and I'm horny." Kenshin stared at her with wide violet-colored eyes. Kaoru couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "I was just kidding so let me rephrase that: you're cute, I'm lonely and in need of a mate, and I was thinking you'll do nicely as a boyfriend!"

Kenshin grinned while saying, "I'll think about it."

Kenshin liked Kaoru. She was a lot nicer and more sympathetic when she didn't have her emotional tirades. She was definitely cute and he was sure she'd get along with his kids. Things might just work out for the better. After all . . . he hadn't been on a date for a year now! Having a girlfriend wouldn't be such a bad idea either, and lastly but not least, she was not like Tomoe . . .

-----

While Kaoru was busy bustling around as a waitress, Shishio and Yumi stepped in together and took their usual seats. Kaoru's break was coming up - this would be her chance to talk to them.

"Quite busy in here, isn't it?" Yumi quipped.

"Kaoru seems lively today," Shishio added. He looked at Kaoru who was across the room from them before looking back at Yumi. "Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Edokawa Daigoro."

"And what about this studious young man do you want to tell me about?" Shishio was intrigued, but he tried not to show it.

"He agrees to meet with you; name the day and time," Yumi replied, smiling coolly all the while. "You didn't say you wanted to meet him, but I know you kept the idea in mind."

"You read me like a book. You are some hell of a beginner novelist," Shishio crooned.

"I'm an enigma, right?" Yumi's glasses shined in the sunlight. "I'm the mysterious woman who can read people like books, right?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Yumi. You may be amazing, but not as amazing as Edokawa."

Yumi smiled and winked. "Of course he's better than me; besides, I'm not a popular novelist like him, although I bet I can write books just as good."

"Oh? What are you working on then?"

"It doesn't have a title, however, I can tell you the summary. Its about a girl named Dirina - this part may sound like a stereotypical plot, but trust me, it'll get better . . ."

"Go on."

". . . Dirina's village was destroyed by a group of bandits . . . here's the twist because she doesn't want revenge--"

"If she doesn't want revenge for her village what else would she want?" Shishio was confused.

"Let me finish without interruptions, will you?" Shishio shrugged. "She doesn't want revenge - instead, she wanted to join the bandits. Let me explain that, the bandits aren't what they appear to be. The same goes for Dirina's village . . ."

Shishio waited and waited. When Yumi didn't say anything, he asked, "that's it? That sounds like a dull story."

"That was as far as I got . . . I need to think out the rest of the plot."

"I've got a title, how about "Dirina's Journey"," Shishio suggested, "or "The Bandit Clan"."

"Both of those titles sound pathetic . . . Did you make those up just now?" Shishio nodded. "You should put more effort into it - make the title sound like it can explain the story into something else other than the subject at hand."

"What do you mean?"

"Writers would understand it better. Sadly, you're not a writer so you don't need to know the concepts."

"Heh, is that so?"

"Hi, guys!" Both the novelist and publisher turned to face Kaoru. "What's up?"

"Is it your break time?" Shishio asked.

"Yeah, but if you need something I can go get it."

"No, no. Since you're on your break I want you to relax. Today seems really busy."

"The weather is changing so it's nice to have a nice cup of hot chocolate or coffee," Kaoru explained.

"Come sit with us," Yumi offered, patting the seat beside her.

Kaoru sat down and took her apron off to put on the glass table. Something came to mind to Kaoru then. "Oh! You still want to meet Magdaria, don't you?" Yumi nodded while smiling. "I've told her that someone wanted to meet her, but we haven't asked for a time or date yet."

"That's fine. I can meet her whenever Shishio meets Mr. Edokawa."

"Mr. Edokawa? You get to meet Mr. Edokawa? He's so popular! You're really lucky!" Kaoru nearly shrieked.

"Keep your voice down, Kaoru, you don't want to attract attention to us."

"Oh, sorry!" Several people glanced their way, but went back to their own businesses when Yumi and Shishio stared them down.

"So, Shishio, when would you like to meet Edokawa?"

"How about Saturday at noon at my place?" Shishio asked.

"Sounds good." Turning to Kaoru, Yumi said, "I'd like to meet Magdaria at that time and day. At her house or simply here would be fine. Here's my number." Yumi handed Kaoru a business card - they reminded her of her own which were useless now even though she still kept a stack of them with her. "Call me when you get the word."

"Okay. I'm sure that Magdaria would be happy to meet you."

"I'm looking forward to it."

-----

Saitou took a long drag from his cigarette as Aoshi and Sanosuke sat beside him. Kenshin sat across from them on the opposite side. They had all gathered at Tae's restaurant called the Akabeko to eat.

"What looks good on the menu?" Sanosuke asked, without bothering to read over the contents.

"Try reading the menu," Saitou remarked, "you might learn some new words."

"I read very well," Sanosuke combated as he picked up the red colored menu. "Let's see, I think I'll have some sashimi, what about you guys?"

"I'll have that, too," Kenshin said.

Both Aoshi and Saitou ordered their own food to their liking. When the food came they started to eat. A girl by the name of Tsubame served them - each time she came to their table she would blush and politely bow whenever they called for her.

"She's a cute kid, isn't she? Reminds me of Magdaria," Sanosuke commented.

"Speaking of which, how is she doing?" Kenshin asked. "Shougo seems to be stressing over her all the time."

"I wouldn't be able to live a lifestyle like that. I'd get white hair before I even turn thirty-three," Saitou said disdainfully.

"I've heard that Tokio is pregnant," Aoshi teased.

"She is not! Who told you that?" Saitou demanded.

"Suzume and Ayame of course."

"Don't make me use my gun on you," Saitou warned. He placed a hand by his right pocket.

"You still carry around a gun even when you're off duty?" Sanosuke asked.

"Of course." Saitou patted the side of his pants appreciatively. "Enishi disagrees with me - he thinks you shouldn't carry anything at all on your days off."

"He's not a gun maniac like you," Aoshi conceded.

"Don't push it, Aoshi."

"You can simply say hello to the press if that were the case, Saitou." Aoshi pushed his bowl of food away after having finished it several minutes ago.

"How long have you been working with Enishi?" Kenshin asked, trying to distract Saitou's attention to him.

"Two weeks. He isn't half bad, but he couldn't keep up with one of the slowest crooks around this area. I find it ironic that he was bragging about his running capabilities."

When lunch was over Saitou and Sanosuke left together while Aoshi and Kenshin went their separate ways. The only place Kenshin wanted to be as of right now was home.

-----

Kenshin arrived home to the smell of cookies? Talking and clattering noises could be heard in the kitchen. Kenji, Ietsuna, and Naoto were all in aprons and covered in flour as they made cookie dough. Kenshin watched them until Ietsuna noticed his presence by the doorway.

"Daddy, you're home! How was lunch?" Ietsuna asked. The other two turned to look.

"It was fine . . . You three caused quite a disaster in here."

"We'll get it cleaned up afterwards," Kenji explained. "She should be arriving any minute now."

"Huh? Who?" Before Kenshin could ask his son for an answer the doorbell rung.

"I'll get it!" Naoto squealed as he jumped off the bathroom stool. Ietsuna occupied the vacant spot upon the makeshift wood where Naoto was previously standing on.

"Hi, Ms. Oigawa!" Naoto greeted cheerfully. He wanted to show her that he was happy as can be.

"Oh, hello there, little Naoto! How are you doing? Everything is fine?" Naoto nodded. "May I come in?" Naoto nodded again. The smell of cookies hit Ms. Oigawa's nostrils all at once.

"You caught us when we were making cookies. Come on in to the kitchen."

Kenshin had joined his sons and was busy kneading the dough when Ms. Oigawa came up beside him. He yelped out with a start when she lightly tapped him on his shoulder.

"Ms. Oigawa! Oh, wow, you came . . . here? Why wasn't I given a notice?" he asked.

"You mean your sons didn't tell you? Shame on you, Naoto and Ietsuna!" she playfully joked. "I just came here to see how the children were doing. Everything fine? Any cuts, bruises, fights at school? Poor grades? Depression? Anxiety?"

"We are fine, Ms. Oigawa!" Ietsuna and Naoto chorused. Ms. Oigawa looked to Kenji and the only thing he did was shrug and smile.

"It seems like the two of you are in excellent condition! Good gracious, I've never seen the two of you so happy before!" Ms. Oigawa exclaimed. "It goes to show that Mr. Himura here is a good father."

Kenshin smiled sheepishly as he continued to knead the dough. He had a funny feeling that his kids planned this, but it just goes to show that they wanted to stay with him. He was touched.

"If you don't mind, Mr. Himura, I'd like to question both Ietsuna and Naoto separately in a private place," Ms. Oigawa said.

"Certainly."

"All right, Naoto, would you like to go first?"

"Okay."

Naoto and Ms. Oigawa took a seat on a couch in the living room while the rest of the family remained in the kitchen.

"All right, the answers to these questions might sound obvious, but I'd like you to answer truthfully to the extent of your knowledge. I'm going to record this, okay?" Naoto nodded in consent. Ms. Oigawa then clicked the recorder on. "I am Ms. Oigawa Mizuna. I am here in Himura Naoto's home and he is going to be asked some simple questions. Naoto . . . do you feel loved and at home here?"

"Yes. My daddy . . . Mr. Himura, is a very nice man . . . um . . . daddy." Naoto stopped and looked at Ms. Oigawa for a moment. She silently urged him to go on. "I do feel loved and at home. He is the daddy that I have always wanted."

"Okay - question two: If you had the choice to go back to the agency, would you?"

"No."

"Question three: What does your parent or parents do when they are angry, sad, or depressed?"

"Ummm, he doesn't want to be bothered and goes into his room. He usually says he needs to cool off alone."

"Hmmm, okay, good . . . good. Question four: do you feel that you are doing good at school?"

"Yes! My math score went from a C to a B this time! Daddy was proud of me!"

"Ms. Oigawa smiled. "This is the last question: does your father ever punish you? If so, how?"

"He sometimes yells at me, but he never hits me in the face or anything. He is nothing like Tomoe . . . she was a mean woman."

Ms. Oigawa remembered that case a year ago. Mr. Himura almost lost Naoto due to the abuse his wife had inflicted on this poor child. She was glad that he got to keep him because Naoto was such a sweet boy, and he seemed truly happy to be here.

Clicking the tape recorder off, Ms. Oigawa said, "you're all done. Please call Ietsuna in."

Naoto disappeared behind the kitchen door and Ietsuna emerged. He had flour all over his arms and face whilst earning him a chuckle from Ms. Oigawa.

"I'm ready," Ietsuna called out.

"Please be seated and we shall begin."

Chapter 17: END


	18. Chp 18: Big News

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 18: Big News

By: LadyYuina

Okita lightly brushed Soujirou's bangs out of his eyes. They were both leaning against Soujirou's favorite tree in the garden as they held hands and talked.

"About ready to talk?" Okita asked. Soujirou shook his head disdainfully. "Sou-chan . . . why not?"

"I'm scared and I'm not ready to face your parents."

"When will you be ready?" Okita asked.

"I don't know . . ." Soujirou's left hand touched his other hand that bared the ring - Okita watched him as he did so. He could see how nervous his lover was, but constantly delaying their time to reveal their desires was going to lead them nowhere. "If you're willing to marry me, then I suggest we go talk to my parents now."

"You're putting pressure on me."

"This shouldn't be a difficult decision if you love me!"

There was a hint of fear when he asked this. "What if I refuse . . .?"

"Sou-chan, you're making me doubt you; you know that I hate it when you cause me to worry."

Soujirou pursed his lips together and for a moment Okita was wondering what was going through the other man's mind. "Fine! Let's go see your parents about this then!" Soujirou stood up to begin walking, but somehow he couldn't make his legs move when he wanted them to. "That's strange," he muttered, "my legs refuse to move. Isn't this all so funny, Ooki-chan?"

"Nothing's funny about it. I'm dead serious about marrying you."

Knowing that he needed to be strong Soujirou could only hope that he'd calm down soon. The reason his legs didn't want to move was because he was in denial of everything he'd grown accustomed to. His family, as well as Okita's, wished for the both of them to wed off to a woman and have many grandchildren for them. And the promise he made with Mr. Okita was preventing him from going further. Somehow, he felt that as long as he could be by Okita's side he was going to be all right.

"I need to start walking . . ."

"Of course . . ." Okita gave him a funny look.

The couple found Mr. and Mrs. Okita sitting in the living room happily watching television together. Soujirou went up to them first and sat down near Mrs. Okita. The t.v. movie they were watching didn't really register as a war movie until he clearly focused on it, and heard the gunshots along with the marching soldiers.

"Are you planning on watching this with us?" Mrs. Okita asked. "Its very good - you'll cry in the end."

Soujirou looked to the direction of Okita's father when he let out a little snort; he knew perfectly well that war movies was not something the brunette-haired man enjoyed. "Oh, no; I came here because Okita and I have something we'd like to discuss with the both of you." Having been mentioned onto the scene Okita seated himself down beside his beloved. "If you two don't mind . . ."

"Honey, turn off the television set; Okita and Soujirou want to have a word with us," Mrs. Okita said.

"I already know that so you needn't relay his message to me when I'm right next to you. I can hear him just fine from where I am." With a click of a button the t.v. was turned off; it now only displayed a dark screen that reflected their images in contorted sizes and shapes. "What can be so important that the both of you would need to see me?"

"Oh, honey, stop being so rude! It's not as if you don't know Soujirou!" his wife reprimanded.

(Flashback)

Soujirou sat down on the couch facing opposite of Mr. and Mrs. Okita, and took the cup of tea he was offered. Mrs. Okita was smiling, but Mr. Okita was frowning - Soujirou wondered what was wrong. Why did the husband look angry, and the wife look mellow?

"Cautiously, Soujirou asked, "is there something important you need to talk to me about? Suzume told me to come here."

"Ah, yes . . ." Mr. Okita cleared his throat before continuing, ". . . this involves you and my son, Soushi. I know that the two of you are in a relationship, but why ever he turned his attention towards men is beyond me . . ."

"Dear!" Mrs. Okita nearly squawked.

Pretending he didn't hear Mr. Okita's remark, Soujirou said, "if it is about me staying here, then I will happily leave."

"That's not it. It's about you dating my son; I'm not going to lie so I'll tell you face-to-face: I don't like it that you're seeing him."

Soujirou felt his own anger rising, yet he did not want to argue with Okita's father so he said nothing in retort. At this point he didn't know whether he should continue his relationship with Okita or not - his father seemed really disappointed. How would Okita feel about all this?

"There are exceptions," Mrs. Okita noted. She looked to her husband peevishly. "Honey, you said there are exceptions that can be made."

"Yes, I suppose I did say that." Mr. Okita looked forlornly out the window to his left for a moment, and at that time Soujirou felt like Mr. Okita regretted ever mentioning such a thing to his adamant wife. "If you can abide by these exceptions, then I will allow you to continue seeing my son." Soujirou wasn't liking the way he was being talked to - he felt like he was being marked as a sassy, dependent schoolgirl who could do nothing for herself. "First off, you must not marry my son. Secondly, you cannot acquaint him to other homosexual couples whether they be man or woman oriented."

Soujirou waited. When Mr. Okita said nothing, he asked, "is that all?" Both Mr. and Mrs. Okita nodded. "All right. I will take my leave of you now."

"Don't forget these exceptions," Mr. Okita warned.

"I won't."

(Flashback: END)

"Dad, mom, Soujirou and I have something very important to announce," Okita added in. He looked to Soujirou for approval - Soujirou slowly nodded while avoiding Mr. Okita's leering gaze. "We'd like to get married."

Mr. Okita immediately sputtered something that was incomprehensible by the others. The brunette knew that the man's leering gaze never left him, so he contented himself with staring down at the floor in front of him instead of at his boyfriend. Okita felt a strong feeling that there was something at unease between his father and Soujirou - he looked from one individual to the other.

Clearing her throat to break the silence that had befallen them, Mrs. Okita said, "I'll go make us some tea."

"I'm sorry," Soujirou said, just as soon as Mrs. Okita left the living room.

"You should be! You're breaking one of the exceptions I've made for you!"

"Dad!" Okita shouted, coming to the smaller man's defense. "It was my idea - I asked him for his hand in marriage and he was against it! I wanted him to say so otherwise, because if he loves me, then he ought to marry me! I'm happy with the way my relationship is going! I don't care about our family traditions anymore!"

Mr. Okita's face was bright red with anger; he directed this anger at Soujirou. "This is all your fault! You made my son this way! I want you out of this house right now! You are no longer welcomed here!"

Mrs. Okita came in with a tray full of tea just then. She almost dropped the tray when Soujirou bumped into her as he quickly walked by. Okita and his father remained at the couches - facing one another; staring and glaring for all that they were worth. Contemplating on what she should do, Mrs. Okita decided to go after Soujirou. She found him kneeling on his bedroom floor crying.

"Soujirou . . ." He turned to face her. Mrs. Okita frowned when he wiped at his eyes, and tried to smile. "You needn't do that. There's nothing to smile about."

"I'm scared though; the whole darn truth is that I'm still afraid to wed off to another man. And I promised your husband that I wouldn't marry him . . ."

"Does Okita understand this?"

"Somewhat . . ."

"Even if you are afraid, are you willing to marry him of your accord, or are you simply doing it for his sake?" she asked. She reached her arms out to bring Soujirou into a tight embrace. His tears quickly stained the front of her kimono. "Marriage should not be pressured upon another who is reluctant."

"I should start packing." He pulled away from her.

"Don't mind what my husband said . . . I won't let him force you out of this house. He may be the head of the household, but that won't stop me from protecting you."

You're too kind, and yet I feel that it would be better if I left."

"You've lived with us for years! You're like a part of the family; there's no need to go!"

"But there'd be more room for Kaoru if I were gone," Soujirou reasoned.

"What a lame excuse." Soujirou blinked at her several times. "You share a room with Okita, so even if you leave it wouldn't make a difference. Besides, I bet everyone would miss your cooking - there are dishes you can make that not even I can accomplish!"

Soujirou lightly laughed at that. "Well, Mrs. Okita, I don't know what to do anymore. What should I do?"

The first thing you should be doing is remain here. We'll think up of the rest when the need arises, okay?"

Soujirou nodded.

--

Everything seemed so surreal; Kenshin and Kaoru were finally together. Kenji and the others didn't have a problem with her . . . as of yet . . .

Naoto was lying on the living room floor busily coloring in a color book when Kaoru turned off the television and sat down beside him. Despite the intrusion he continued to color without looking up at her - not even once. Kaoru stared at his hair for a moment before looking down at the illustration he was filling in. It displayed two puppies in a basket with a large ribbon tied to each of the puppies' necks.

"You like puppies?" Kaoru asked. Naoto finally looked up at her then. "I like puppies, too, except for Mango, my cousin's Cocker Spaniel. He scares me."

"He scares you?" Naoto asked, brows knitting together.

"No, no, he's cute! I'm not saying he's a scary-looking dog. It's just that he startles me from time to time." The boy's brows were still tightly knitted together and it was driving Kaoru crazy; she couldn't really tell what the boy thought of her. Yet, from the looks of it she could only guess that he must think she was a moron, or some lunatic woman trying to coax him into liking her. "Um . . . do you find me strange?"

"Funny strange? Yes, "Naoto replied. He looked back down at his coloring book, and started to fill in one puppy's paw with a light-brown crayon.

Kaoru's left eye twitched - the line Naoto used rung a bell, but she couldn't quite grasp when she had first heard that line. Kaoru scrunched up her face in mock distaste. She couldn't remember and it was frustrating her.

"You know, Kenji said it was big news when my daddy and I got together," Naoto told her. He was trying to be careful with what he said because he already disliked her; it seemed like she was going to be a troublesome person. Much like Aoshi, he tried to mask his true feelings from her. "I'm happy as long as my daddy is happy." Kaoru smiled and patted him on the head - Naoto wanted to pull away, but he refrained himself from doing so.

Meanwhile, Ietsuna and Kenshin were at the dentist, waiting for Ietsuna to be called in. The boy swung his legs back and forth beneath the chair's legs and back again, as he sat beside his father.

"You're not scared?" Kenshin asked. Ietsuna shook his head in a determined gesture. "Why the sudden change?"

"You have a new wife; I must show her that I am strong so she won't do anything bad to me," Ietsuna explained.

"Ietsuna, Kaoru and I are not husband and wife. She's my girlfriend - I don't have marriage on my mind anytime soon."

"Is she like Tomoe?" Ietsuna asked, apprehensive.

"No, she's not like Tomoe."

"But she cannot become mean, right?"

"You mean mad?" Ietsuna shook his head - he was well aware of the difference, and knew he did not need any correcting this time. "Ietsuna, you don't have to worry - I'm sure Kaoru would never do anything mean to you or Naoto purposefully."

"Himura Ietsuna," an attendant called.

"Want me to go inside with you?" Kenshin asked.

"No, I'm a big boy! I can handle this!" Ietsuna declared, though his voice wavered a little. "I am not afraid!"

The attendant chuckled as she led Ietsuna to his assigned room. Once seated, the child rubbed his shoes together nervously. The assistant of the dentist came in with a needle in one hand. Ietsuna looked at it in wide-eyed shock.

"Open your mouth for me, okay?" the man said. Ietsuna froze - he actually couldn't handle this. The man asked him to open his mouth again, but he refused.

"Daddy!" Ietsuna shouted at the top of his lungs as the man tried to force his mouth open. "Daaaadddyyyyy!"

Kenshin was at his side within seconds. He was breathless at best, but he looked at his son worriedly. Ietsuna hugged him closely to himself as tears riveted down his pale cheeks. The assistant looked at the them disapprovingly - the child was wasting valuable time.

"Ahem. Unless he doesn't want painkillers, then I suggest he deals with the pain full force," the man said.

"Ietsuna, open your mouth and let the man do his job." Ietsuna shook his head and hugged Kenshin tighter. "Listen to me, there are people outside waiting for their turn to see the dentist. This isn't fair to them."

"Aren't they scared of the needle?" Ietsuna asked.

Trying to encourage his son, Kenshin replied, "nope, they're all like brave knights preparing for battle against the needle. You should do the same."

Like a good little boy Ietsuna opened his mouth and let the assistant pierce the fleshy wall of his gums in the left side of his mouth. Kenshin could feel Ietsuna flinch for a second, but that was all. Ietsuna then closed his mouth and swallowed deeply - he looked up at his father.

"It didn't hurt, did it?" Kenshin asked his son.

"Only for a second. I'm okay now," Ietsuna replied.

"Thank you for the cooperation; the dentist will be here in fifteen minutes once the painkiller has taken effect."

"All right. Thank you," Kenshin said.

Not long after Ietsuna started to complain that he couldn't feel anything around the left side of his mouth. Kenshin simply smiled and listen to his son ramble.

Chapter 18: END


	19. Chp 19: It's Nice To Meet You

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 19: It's Nice To Meet You

By: LadyYuina

"How do I look? I don't look too formal, do I?" Magdaria asked of her brother. Shougo shook his head - he was leaning against her bedroom doorway, as usual.

"Don't think so much. It'll be the death of you!" Shougo jokingly reminded her.

"Shougo, stop it! I just want to make a first good impression!" Magdaria was quick to reason. She picked up her yellow-colored hairbrush and started to comb through her hair. "From what Kaoru told me, Yumi sounds like a very sophisticated woman; I hope I can meet her expectations."

"Take it easy, Sayo." Magdaria stopped brushing her hair, and stared at her brother by his reflection through her bedroom mirror. Her expression changed from worried doubt to that of stoic indifference. Her eyes took on a placid, jade-green color. "There is no need to stress over this; she'll like you just the way you are. Trust me, don't expect everyone to judge you so easily."

"It's hard not to . . ."

"I'm sure Kaoru's friend will like you as is. Don't force change when it is not wanted."

"You're right . . . I shouldn't change simply to appease people. I'll stay as myself whether someone likes it or not. And under thy Holy Mother we have been blessed with her never-ending protection."

"She'll always be watching over us no matter what happens," Shougo added. Staring at his sister's bedroom clock, he said, "Yumi should be ringing the doorbell any minute now if she's on time, that is."

To Magdaria's distraught, Shougo was absolutely correct. Standing up from her chair, Magdaria walked towards the exit to her room. Shougo lightly patted her on the shoulder as she moved past him. Yumi smiled and said, "hi", in a friendly tone when Magdaria opened the front door to let her inside.

"Hello," Magdaria automatically replied, "please come in."

"This is a pretty cozy place." Yumi took her shoes off and slipped into some house slippers that were left by the door for guests. As she looked around she noticed that the whole house carried the feel of God. Magdaria and Shougo's Christianity was shown clearly through all the paintings and sculptures they had placed around the place. Yumi was now being led to the living room. She also noticed that the couches were covered with red velvet material with a lighter shade of red for the couch pillows. A small bamboo plant was placed by the couch that Yumi sat down upon; the couch to her left was only about four feet away.

"Would you like some tea?" Magdaria offered politely.

"Thank you, that would be nice," Yumi humbly replied.

Magdaria shuffled off into the kitchen - slouching forward she took a deep breath and sighed when she reached her destination. Yumi was a lot more sophisticated looking that she had anticipated. Taking the already boiling tea kettle off the stove, she started to pour clear, hot water into a cup. Afterwards, she placed a teabag inside the cup; the fragrance wafted up to her nostrils. The aroma was soothing as she inhaled deeply. When she finally re-entered the living room, she found Yumi fixating her gaze upon a painting on the wall before her.

Turning to face her host, Yumi spontaneously smiled. "You have such beautiful paintings lining the walls."

Magdaria blushed. "Thank you. My brother picked these out - it seems you like his taste in art."

"Interesting." Yumi accepted the tea Magdaria handed her. Before the brunette-haired girl could tell Yumi that the tea was hot she took a sip without crying out in surprised pain. Yumi caught her staring, so she said, "don't worry, I can handle really hot drinks. Nothing like tea that has been brewed to ease my nerves. Even though its instant tea, mind you." She winked at the girl to let her know that it was not a bad thing to serve instant tea bags.

"That's amazing! I've never met someone quite like you before!" Magdaria exclaimed in awe.

"Hahaha, you're quite the enigmatic being yourself." Magdaria flushed at the very idea of being named as one. "Mind if I ask you questions?"

"Sure, go ahead." For some odd reason, Magdaria felt like being herself and not find it strange that Yumi could've found her awkward. In fact, everything felt so natural.

"I'm intrigued by the name, Magdaria, does it have a significant meaning? I've never heard of a name such as yours being common in Japan among the Western ones."

"It's nothing special, really, my mother got it from the name, Magdalene. Since her grandmother's name was, Ria, she decided to take out the lene part and replace it with Ria."

"Hmmm - Magdalene is a beautiful name, too. It rolls off the tongue in lyrical melody," Yumi expressed. She shifted her glasses upwards slightly. "Magdalene . . . Magdalene . . . Magdaria. Very nice, indeed."

"I'm glad you like it, but it isn't my real name."

"I see." Yumi didn't look surprised like Magdaria thought she would, instead, she merely smiled.

Magdaria seldom told anyone her real name, but she was entitled to tell Yumi - she was a magnet that Magdaria felt as if the truth was trying to surface to stick to the other woman. "My real name is Sayo. Magdaria is merely my Christian name."

The girl was mortified when one of her coughing fits started to occur then. She placed both hands to her mouth as cough after cough wracked her feeble body. Yumi's once sunny disposition was now turned into a deep frown full of concern. Magdaria dared not to move her hands away from her mouth in fear of letting Yumi see her blood. She could feel specks of warm liquid on her palms.

"Can I get you something?" Yumi asked. She placed a steady hand on Magdaria's delicate shoulders. "Are you ill by any chance?"

"Please . . . Excuse me!" Magdaria hurried off into the bathroom closest to her, and closed the door behind her with a push of her hips. She could tell that her hands were a bloody mess. Magdaria broke down and cried as she continued to cough - turning on the faucet handle with a bloodied hand, she rinsed her fingers thoroughly. The sound of the faucet running drowned out her tears.

Yumi seated herself back down on the velvet couch. She noticed the pain in the girl's eyes when she started her coughing fit. That was too serious to be a minor cold or the flu - something else must be wrong. Just then, a man entered the living room, making Yumi break way from her thoughts. She raised her spectacled eyes to meet the man's.

"Where did she go?" he asked.

"To the bathroom . . . You must be her brother?" The resemblance was striking.

The man nodded. "Yes, I am. I'm Amakusa Shougo, Magdaria's older brother."

"It's nice to meet you, Shougo."

"It's nice to meet you, too - please, excuse me . . . I must be on my way."

"No problem." Yumi watched Shougo as he walked in the direction that Magdaria had gone.

Magdaria whipped her head around when she heard the bathroom doorknob turn. She froze in place, hoping it wasn't Yumi who had come to check in on her. She couldn't let Yumi see her in this state; thankfully, to Magdaria's relief, it was only her brother.

"Shougo . . ." she breathed out.

Poking his head in, he asked, "are you all right?"

"I'm fine now. My coughing has subsided. Is Yumi still out there?" Shougo nodded. "I must have been rude . . . Suddenly leaving like that."

"I think she understands," Shougo assured her.

"I think . . . I . . . I think I will ask her to write it . . ." Magdaria stated, thoughtfully, carefully considering her decision.

"Write what?" Shougo was genuinely curious.

"Write a book about me . . . I think I want that now. Kaoru told me that Yumi is a beginner novelist."

"If that's what you want," Shougo entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him, "then I'm not going to stop you if you want to tell the entire world."

Once Magdaria cleaned herself up, she went back to the living room to see Yumi patiently waiting. Blushing, Magdaria said, "I'm sorry. I made you wait out here for me without anything to do for quite some time."

"Oh, it wasn't a problem at all. I'm used to stuff like this. As a matter of fact, ten to fifteen minutes isn't that long compared to some of my clients that I speak to on occasions. Some of them literally take forever to show."

Magdaria smiled, glad that Yumi was lightly brushing this off. She had such an easy-going nature, and yet, she pooled out so much authority. Magdaria decided that she really liked Yumi; she was very considerate and easy to talk to. The jade-green-eyed girl was left with a pleasant feeling resounding about her when Yumi finally left.

-----

Shishio suavely bowed to Daigoro as they met up at a secluded part of the local park by the café Kaoru worked at in Tokyo. Shishio found it odd that the young man wanted to meet him in a place such as this, but he wasn't going to start complaining about it. Today was a nice day out; it wasn't too cold and nor was it too windy.

"Yo," Shishio greeted.

"He-hello," Daigoro replied. He fumbled with his large glasses for a moment before composing himself properly.

"I see that you're the famous author - it must be nice," Shishio said, trying to spark up a somewhat dry conversation.

"It is . . ."

"Are you currently working on anything?" Shishio casually ran a hand through his short, black ponytail. "I've heard from Yumi that you have several projects in mind. Would you feel comfortable in sharing some with me?"

Slightly frowning, Daigoro replied, "I don't tell others my plans other than to Yumi."

"Why is it that you only tell things to my girlfriend?" Shishio asked. "Don't get any funny ideas about her."

"I would never!" Daigoro was quivering with subtle anger. "Yumi is only a friend, and that is all she'll ever be to me! In fact, she's the only friend that I can trust! I know she will never use me to get money or resort to anything of the sort!"

"That's my girl for you - she'd definitely trustworthy and loyal. A real enigma, too." Noticing that he was getting off topic, Shishio amended it by saying, " and besides, why do you like writing so much? Did you grow up surrounded by this sort of thing?"

Daigoro looked at his hands as he spoke. "My father used to be a writer - not a professional one, but he always wrote stories for me to read. He liked to write stories full of fantasy and heroic adventures. My favorite piece he ever wrote was called, 'Little Black Boat'. He thought about publishing that one, yet he decided against it when he saw the way the publisher who asked him to looked at him."

Ignoring the last part, Shishio asked, "what was 'Little Black Boat' about?" He had to admit that he was getting keenly interested.

"The title says it all. It's about a little black boat that sailed out to sea looking for adventure in the unknown waters of Japan. Along his travels he met many different kinds of animals, birds, and other boats. What I liked abut that story the most though, would be that that little black boat never gave up on his dream. He wanted to sail the unknown waters despite the risks that were involved in doing that; nothing in the world was going to stop him . . ."

"Sounds a little like you," Shishio assumed. To his satisfaction his assumption was proven right when Daigoro grew wide-eyed at such a thought. "You've been inspired by that story - it never gave up . . . Much like you."

"That is true, but the story itself was not the only thing that inspired me. My father himself helped me a great deal - he was the one that taught me all about writing creatively; to use my imagination."

"Your father sounds like a man that has accomplished many things in life. Say, did he travel a lot at one point in his life?"

"Yeah. When I was five, he went on a tour to several countries for a year or so . . ."

"Thought so." Shishio grinned.

"Well . . ."

Daigoro and Shishio looked up at the sky when they felt small droplets of water fall upon their heads and shoulders.

Standing up, Shishio suggested, "let's go someplace else - it's raining, and I have a feeling that it'll rain harder still with the way the sky has darkened."

"All right. We can . . . err . . . go to my place." Daigoro blushed when Shishio smirked.

"We're not going on date, and I am not into men. Problem answered, issue solved." Shishio laughed when Daigoro looked flustered.

"R-right!"

Before they had made it to Daigoro's penthouse, the rain was already pouring down heavily. Both Shishio and Daigoro ran to the front steps - sharing Shishio's coat to cover their heads to keep themselves as dry as possible. The writer took out his keys from his pocket and opened the front door. Shishio stepped in with the other man following in behind him. The tall raven-haired man stood in the dark momentarily until Daigoro flicked on the light switch. Shishio took a glance around before stepping aside to let the smaller man walk up the foyer towards the living room.

"This place isn't all that much, but I hope you like it," Daigoro muttered half-heartedly.

"It's not like I'm here to criticize your home, so don't worry about it." Shishio laughed once more when Daigoro looked at him stupidly. "You're quite an interesting guy. You're enigmatic - in a different way than Yumi, but nonetheless, you're still radiating something."

"Huh? I don't quite understand what you're saying," Daigoro said.

"If you don't get it, then don't mind me. Shall we continue where we last left off?"

"S-sure."

Chapter 19: END


	20. Chp 20: Simply Put, Tell Me the Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Hehe, I like this chapter because I get to write about Kenji and a girl! And he is such a fun character to write about! When you all get to the point where "**Kenji**" (.(ahem).) went into an explanation about something (I'm pretty sure everyone has at least made note of or blatantly noticed it before), tell me what you think of it as well, 'kay? XD Please do read and review! Thank you!

Have a upcoming Happy New Year:)

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 20: Simply Put, Tell Me the Truth

By: LadyYuina

Kenji sat at his desk in his classroom as his teacher lectured to the students about chemistry. As bored as he was he did not let it slip his line of visage that a certain raven-haired girl was constantly glancing his way every one in a while. Her chocolate-brown eyes would dart at him quickly before focusing once more towards the teacher. In her own way she reminded Kenji of his father's girlfriend, Kaoru.

". . . All right, class, the lesson is now over. Please start on the worksheet, and before anyone asks me anything you may work with one partner. No pairings of three and four, understand?" The class roared with glee at the prospect of not having to do the worksheet alone.

Kenji stifled a yawn only to hear a girl's voice. "Um . . . Do you want to be my partner?" Opening one eye he noticed that it was the girl that had been staring at him. She clutched at her worksheet tightly, waiting for the boy in front of her to say something.

"Sure, why not."

A big smile graced her lips as she sat down next to him. Her armpit length black hair accidentally brushed against Kenji's right cheek when she scooted in a little too close. Not feeling the least embarrassed like she was, he simply moved over some more to distance themselves.

"My name is Hagokichi Haruna . . . and you are?"

"Himura Kenji," he replied. "I'm pretty new to this school; perhaps you can show me around after class is over? Do you have lunch next?"

"Yes, I do! I'd love to show you around!" Haruna exclaimed, overly thrilled at the idea. Kenji turned away and rolled his eyes; it was too obvious that she liked him. Only an ignorant boy wouldn't see through a girl's actions such as hers.

"Anyways, let's get started on the worksheet. Time isn't going to stop us so we can chat," Kenji told her.

"Yeah, sorry, you're right."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. You're strange," Kenji told her.

After class was over Haruna quickly packed and waited for her classmate as he took his time. Like a hawk, she surveyed her prey thoroughly, paying attention to every little detail that Kenji did. Things like pushing his ponytail behind his back, or dusting off his uniform as he packed. Kenji actually felt nervous, he hadn't felt this way in a very long time. He could tell that Haruna was staring at him long and hard . . . Perhaps that was the cause of his nervousness.

Glancing up, he said, "look, Haruna, can you please stop concentrating on me so hard?"

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" Haruna lifted her school bag to hide her face behind it due to her embarrassment. Kenji cocked an eyebrow at her - his nervousness now faded away.

"You like me, don't you?"

"N-no!"

"You're stammering. Stop lying." Kenji was satisfied that he let it out in the open.

"How could you tell?"

"Never mind that. Just give me a tour of the school. If you don't want to anymore, I can get someone else to do it." Glancing around the class he could tell it wouldn't be hard to snag someone else since some of the other girls were giving him dreamy looks of their own. Kenji cringed - he wasn't used to being showered with so much attention at school - especially by girls. "Say, do girls here tend to make goo-goo eyes at every new male student?"

Haruna blushed and laughed nervously. "N-now that's not true at all!"

"Really now . . ."

"Okay! Let the tour begin!" Haruna led Kenji down a long, narrow hallway. Kenji found it hard to believe that a school would have such a skinny passageway such as this. "This hallway that we're walking through, people call it "The Lover's Path", since it's really thin and you can see we're almost shoulder to shoulder. If you ask me, I don't know why such a thing as this was built in the first place."

"Heh." Kenji brushed a hand against the smooth wooden wall's surface. Haruna peeked a glance at the side-view of his face. If she recalled correctly she swore she'd seen someone that resembled this boy by a lot - he had been a substitute for one of her classes before, but she couldn't remember his name, sadly. "Haruna, how long is this hallway . . .?"

"Um, I don't really know . . ."

"In that case . . ." Kenji turned around to leave, however, Haruna's firm hold on his right hand stopped him from going anywhere; he gave her an annoyed look. "Mind letting go of my hand?"

"I--"

"Look, Haruna, you're a nice girl and all, but I'm not interested." Haruna frowned while Kenji looked impatiently at her. Her old on his hand tightened when he tried to move again. "Haruna, I said, let go."

"I'm in love with you! I know we've just met, but I've been watching you for the past week ever since you first stepped one foot into the classroom! Please . . . can we at least--"

"No. Get that through your thick skull." Haruna was mortified by what she was hearing. "I already said I wasn't interested, okay? And who says they're in love with someone when they don't even know the person? God, girls these days are too into anime . . ." Kenji didn't even bat an eyelid when it looked like Haruna was going to cry. " . . . 'I really like you', or 'I like you', would have been a better thing to say, eh? Well, anyway, go find yourself a nice guy to prance around with."

"You . . . You're horrible!" Haruna shouted at the top of her lungs. Kenji sighed as he shrugged. He wasn't the one being pigheaded about this - she was.

-----

Kenshin pulled up by the school's driveway to pick up his son, Kenji. Naoto and Ietsuna were in the backseat while Kenji sat in front to Kenshin's left.

"How was school today?" Kenshin asked of Kenji.

"Same as usual, however, I broke a girl's heart today. It was rather sad, really." All heads turned on him, even Naoto and Ietsuna knew what breaking someone's heart meant. "Why are you all staring at me like that? I wasn't interested in her so I told her the truth."

"Kenji--"

"Lying about it would have been worse, right?" Kenji countered, before his father could even finish his sentence.

"Kenji's right, daddy," Ietsuna added to the fray, "lying is more worse than telling the truth. You told us that."

"I guess I did . . ."

"Ietsuna, you're one smart kid," Kenji complimented, whilst turning around in his seat to give him a thumbs up. The young brunette-haired boy smiled in response.

"Kenji, can the three of us talk later?" Naoto suddenly spoke up after being silent all this time.

"Us kids?" Naoto nodded. "Okay, got it."

"Are you three planning something fishy?" Kenshin asked. As expected, he knew that his children were going to shake their heads at his question. "Good . . ."

-----

"So, what did the two of you want to talk about?" They all huddled close together in Naoto and Ietsuna's room. All was quiet at the moment save for the sound of the clock's ticking sound.

"It's about daddy's girlfriend," Ietsuna replied.

"Do you guys not like her or something . . .?"

"Sort of . . . I think she's kind of weird," Naoto said. "She's not really like Tomoe, but sometimes she acts really strange around me when she tries to act nice." Kenji laughed at that. "You think that's funny?"

"Well, as you can see, she obviously doesn't know how to act around the both of you. Her attempts at trying to be nice makes her nervous; she's afraid of what you two might think of her, I suppose."

"She's weird," Naoto said again. Kenji started to laugh again only to have tears threaten to fall from his eyes.

"Want me to do some interrogating?" Kenji looked from Naoto to Ietsuna when they gave him funny looks - realization dawned on him. He shouldn't have been using such hard words. "Let me explain - interrogation means when someone asks another person questions, and I mean a lot of questions. Understand, now?" They both nodded. Kenji sweat dropped at the eager glow that came to the boys' faces - the explanation he used was a tad bit naiveté of him to say. "Okay, then, I will interrogate her for you guys."

"Thank you, Kenji!" Naoto beamed.

"Don't worry about it. I've been itching to ask her questions, anyway."

They all shared a laugh.

-----

Soujirou pulled away from Okita's embrace when he tried to hug him from behind. His feelings for his companion was tittering on the edge, doubt now plagued his mind constantly, although he didn't voice them out. To Soujirou, breaking away from Japanese traditions was not something he could see himself doing . . . Even if it were for his beloved.

Hurt by the sudden rejection, Okita asked, "why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not," Soujirou replied with immediate haste to his tone.

"Then why not let me touch you, Sou-chan?"

Soujirou turned around to face Okita, then. Okita expected to see sadness, but instead he saw anger. "Your father, Okita, I can't disobey him no matter what. You should understand why I'm doing this. I revoke my choice of marrying you . . Just as long as I can stay with you . . ."

"You're not making much sense."

"How stubborn can you be?" Soujirou gritted his teeth together in annoyance, despite the pained expression Okita was giving him. "Ooki-chan," Soujirou tried to relax his face, "as long as I want to be with you, I can't marry you . . . ever. It'd be even better if your father found you a bride, a girl, not a man like me. I can't even rear children. I can't--"

"I thought we've already talked about this? Stop bringing up the same things over and over because I'm tired of hearing the same excuses from you." Okita had advanced on his lover, shaking him roughly by the shoulders as he tried to talk some sense into him. "Stop making our love sound impossible, Sou-chan. There's still hope for us. Please . . . don't tie yourself down by traditions that have long since been broken by so many people before us."

"Quit shaking me!" Soujirou shoved Okita hard in the chest, causing the both of them to fall to the ground. Okita was a lot faster in getting up than Soujirou, so he pinned him down before the brunette-haired man knew what was happening. "So . . . you're going to use force now, are you?"

"No, that's not what I want to do. I'm more afraid of losing you than anything else. You make my life complete; I want this wholeness to last forever, understand?" Warm tears spilled out of his eyes to fall softly onto Soujirou's flushed cheeks. "Everyday I think about you, every night I love the feel of your warmth beside me, every time I see you smile for me, it soothes me. Everything about you . . ."

"That's enough, Okita." Soujirou turned his face away from his lover's pleading eyes. "If you won't abide by your father's exceptions, then I'm calling our relationship off - we're through as of now." Soujirou could hear himself saying these painful words over and over in his own mind; his dreams with Okita were quickly fading. He could feel more warm tears fall onto his right cheek.

"Sou-chan, . . . no . . . we can't be over; tell me it isn't true. Don't--"

"I'm sorry, Okita." Okita did not resist when Soujirou slowly nudged him off as he sat up. "You've blinded yourself with our love. Think about the consequences. Think about what you're getting yourself into. It hurts, I know, to part ways, but I have no other choice."

"Do you really mean that?" Okita whispered. Soujirou could barely hear him.

"This is all my fault, so don't go blaming someone else. This is all my doing, okay?"

"It's my father's fault!" Okita snarled angrily. "He's the reason you're leaving me!"

Soujirou now stood up, and looked down at Okita's pitiful form still sitting on the ground. Sighing, he tried to move only to realize that he hadn't the will to simply walk away; four years was a very long time. Leaving it all behind was not going to be easy. In his heart he loved the man before him . . . It was almost like a sin to Soujirou when he took off the engagement ring Okita gave him. The shiny (and most likely very expensive) gold ring glistened under the sun's rays. It was stranger still that he didn't shed any tears when he gently lowered the ring to place it on the ground beside Okita. They didn't make any eye contact. Soujirou muttered a goodbye before going inside the house to pack his things.

-----

"You seem distracted, Haruna, pay attention to the lesson," her teacher told her.

"I can't stop thinking about this boy at my school. What he said to me today made my blood boil. He's so mean . . . yet, I can't help but like him all the more," Haruna explained. "I want him to be my boyfriend . . ."

Ms. Mio, her piano teacher gave her a somewhat strained look. "Haruna, you're a little too young to be thinking about romance. And besides . . ." Ms. Mio faltered in her words.

Flustered, Haruna slapped both of her hands to her reddened cheeks. "He's just so cute! He's really honest, too! Maybe that's what I like about him!"

"Haruna . . ."

"No matter what it takes I'll make sure he'll be mine and no one else's!"

-----

While sitting on the couch watching t.v., Kenji sneezed. He rubbed at his nose gingerly, silently muttering to himself that someone was talking about him.

Chapter 20: END


	21. Chp 21: Taking Action PART 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Boy, did I have fun writing chapter 20 now that I think about it, even with sad moments in it! XD And one more thing, I do know how to spell "drunk". I misspelled that on purpose.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 21: Taking Action (Part 1)

By: LadyYuina

Kaoru squirmed under the tight scrutiny her friend was giving her. She knew it was really lame that she should be turning to her for advice about children when it seemed like Misao didn't know much about children either, but at least she was much more sensitive on the subject than she was. Surely, though, Kaoru knew that Misao wasn't too fond of the Kenshin's two munchkins.

"Well, Kaoru, I can't say I like 'em very much myself, but I can give you advice. First off, do you think Naoto and Ietsuna like you?"

"Erm . . . I don't know . . ."

"Forget this little conversation, then - Magdaria is going to be here any minute now, anyway. "As if on cue, Misao's doorbell rang. "I'll go get it."

Chattering could be heard when the door opened and closed. Kaoru slumped further into the couch she was already slouching on. Magdaria's sight of interest was Kaoru when she stepped into the living room, seeing her friend's distressed demeanor wasn't to her liking. She and Kaoru were not as close as she and Misao were due to Kaoru's time being spent with Kenshin, but Kaoru was still a friend nonetheless.

"You okay, Kaoru?" she asked, looking rather worried.

"I'm fine. Kid trouble . . . that's all." Sitting up straight, she added, "we're still going to Tae's restaurant today, right?"

"Of course! She had a new dish for us to taste!" Misao cheered. "Let's be on our way!"

"Sure, sure, Misao," Magdaria and Kaoru said in unison, only to laugh when they both realized they said the same thing at the exact same time.

--

Kaoru came home (she was literally living with Kenshin now after they got together) later than day to have Naoto and Ietsuna urging her to help them make rice and sweet chicken. She looked to the living room to see Kenji sitting cross-legged in the floor as he watched one of his favorite t.v. programs. Kenshin was sitting on the couch reading one of his well-loved books.

"Come on, Kaoru!" Ietsuna urged.

"Um . . . what about your dad?"

"It's okay! You can help us!" Ietsuna kept on urging.

Kenshin looked to the kitchen door worriedly when Kaoru and the two siblings went through the double doors. "Are you sure they can handle it?"

"Come on, dad, leave them be. After all, it was you that wanted them to have a little bonding time, and now is the perfect time to do so," Kenji chided. He smirked when his father sighed and nodded in agreement; Kenji loved how his dad was such a push-over (in a good way) because now things were going according to plan.

In the kitchen, Kaoru asked, "all right, do you two have your aprons on?"

"Let me help you." Naoto went behind his brother when he noticed that he was struggling to tie his apron. Naoto did it perfectly with a nice bow to boot.

"Thank you," Ietsuna said.

Kaoru read the instructions on a recipe that she was looking at. Picking up the bag f rice, Kaoru started to mutter to herself nervously as Naoto and Ietsuna stared at her.

"Should I get Kenji or daddy to help, too?" Ietsuna looked to the kitchen's double doors.

"No, you two will be just fine in aiding me." Kaoru didn't bother to look up from the instructions and continued to read through it. Ietsuna and Naoto turned around and bumped heads as they started a discussion.

"What do you think of her now?" Naoto asked of his brother.

Ietsuna shrugged. "She's still weird. One night she came over to our house before she moved in, and her face looked all red - she looked like she didn't know what she was doing."

"She was probably dunk then," Naoto surmised.

"Dunk?"

"You know, when someone drinks bad stuff and becomes all weird, but Kaoru only became weirder when she was dunk . . . Mommy used to drink all the time . . ." Naoto thought about it for a second, this was one of the few times that he'd recalled things of his actual birthmother.

"Tomoe doesn't get dunk . . ." Ietsuna stated.

"Not her!" Naoto hissed, all the while keeping his eye on Kaoru. "Our real mommy!"

"Oh . . ." Ietsuna looked thoughtful for a second. "When our mommy got dunk, she was really nice and hugged us a lot. She even used to say nice things."

"That's weird of her to do that though," Naoto argued. His soft blue eyes flicked to the right when he felt a warm hand touch his shoulder. Ietsuna did the same only for the fact that he turned to his left instead. Kaoru smiled at them while telling them that they were her assistants. They weren't doing their jobs! "What do you want us to do?" Naoto rolled up is shirt sleeves and got ready for whatever was to come. He went over to the counter to pick up a knife, however, Kaoru clucked her tongue at him, and took the blade away. Puzzled, Naoto said, "I can use a knife."

"Knives are too dangerous for you to handle."

"But he's good with knives. Our daddy let's him use them," Ietsuna explained, equally perplexed by Kaoru's showmanship of protective behavior.

Kaoru was mortified. What on earth was Kenshin thinking letting a nine-year-old use a knife! She was surprised the child hadn't cut off any of his fingers. Naoto pouted while Ietsuna glared at her. Great . . . Now they were mad at her; what could get much worse?

"Kaoru, let me use the knife," Naoto demanded. This kitchen was his turf and he didn't like it one bit that someone like Kaoru would deny him the use of a knife. Naoto was sure he could handle this since he hadn't cut himself once over a year now. His father even trusted him with handling knives. This only added to his growing confidence.

"No, it's too dangerous." Kaoru wasn't going to relent on her decision. She placed the knife on a high shelf so that the two children couldn't reach it without using a stool.

"Fine, then. You can cook with Ietsuna because I'm getting out of here," Naoto huffed, angry that he didn't get his way.

Kaoru was miffed - all Naoto looked like to her was a spoiled brat; Ietsuna wasn't too far behind him, either. "Kenshin ought to teach that child more manners, and not to mention the safety precautions a kid must take while in a kitchen."

"Naoto is not a bad boy, and neither am I because I know that is what you are thinking!" Ietsuna took off his apron and marched out of the kitchen. Kenji and Kenshin came in then.

"What's the matter?" Kenshin asked.

Kaoru felt like crying . . . After all this time of trying to make Kenshin's adopted children like her she only continued to push them away instead. Kenji seemed to be on friendly terms with her, but they weren't exactly close. Before Kaoru realized it, she was bawling uncontrollably. Kenji simply whistled as he left the kitchen in respect of much needed privacy between his father and his father's girlfriend.

Again, Kenshin asked, "what's the matter?"

"It's all my fault, Kenshin, no matter how hard I try they still don't like me. The only way I can picture them as are spoiled brats. I think you're letting them have too much freedom to do as they please; just now, Naoto was planning on using a knife."

Kenshin shook his head sadly - Naoto always used a knife. Although it sounded dangerous for a child to use, Naoto was more than capable of using one. Kenshin didn't know what sort of ties Naoto had with knives, but he had been using them ever since he adopted him and his brother.

(Flashback)

"Naoto, be . . ." Kenshin lost all need for words; he watched the child in awe. For someone for the age of seven, this sky-blue haired child knew how to handle such an equipment. He chopped the celery with ease and speed. Kenshin wondered where he learned to cut like that, although he didn't want to pry by asking. It was probably learned from his real mother and father - it was definitely something he didn't want to bring up having recently adopted him.

Timidly, Naoto suddenly said, "I like to cut things."

Kenshin sweat dropped. That sentence could have been interpreted with many meanings and intents. "As in vegetables and fruits?" Naoto nodded while blushing at the same time. "You're very talented, Naoto!"

"Thank you." Naoto stepped off of the stool and stood idly in front of Kenshin. Bowing, he added, "you are very nice."

Kenshin laughed and patted the child on the head. From the child's profile Kenshin knew that he tended to act as mature as possible. He accepted that, although it was unhealthy that he should act the way he did.

"Do you and your brother like living here?" Kenshin asked.

Naoto nodded. "You are nicer than my daddy - a lot nicer than my mommy. You and Mrs. Himura are very nice!"

(Flashback: END)

Naoto sat in his bed and sulked - Ietsuna sat beside him watching his brother cry. Naoto had simply wanted to chop the vegetables, but Kaoru refused to let him. Ietsuna believed that when Naoto grew up, he would become a fine chef.

"Don't cry, Naoto - Kaoru was looking out for you. Daddy said that before, too," Ietsuna reminded him.

"I don't like her . . . She's not like daddy at all," Naoto whined through sobs. "She doesn't understand us like he does."

"So, this is where the two of you went. I should have known better." Both Naoto and Ietsuna turned to face Kenji. He stood by the door for a moment before strolling in. "What are you crying about?"

"Kaoru was being stict . . . She wouldn't let Naoto use the knife," Ietsuna explained.

"You mean strict and no offense, but I agree with her. Someone your age shouldn't be using knives - you know, you might cut yourself."

"He's been using them for years!"

Kenji arched an eyebrow. "Hm, okay . . . Where did he exactly learn how to use knives so well? Your mom? Your dad?"

"My mom . . ." Naoto answered, in a low voice.

"Did she enjoy cooking?" Kenji asked, well aware of the boy's sudden change in demeanor.

"No." Ietsuna was the one to reply.

"She liked to cut things; those things weren't always food." Kenji's eyes widened from shock. "She liked to hurt animals."

Disgusted with what he heard, Kenji said, "that's a load of bull . . . I've never heard of anyone enjoying hurting animals. That's inhumane . . ."

"I learned from her - it was definitely from her," Naoto conceded.

"Luckily you didn't turn out the way your mom did," Kenji said, voice filling with relief. "By the way, does dad know about this?" Both of the boys shook their heads. "Shouldn't you two tell him?"

"It's okay if he doesn't know . . . I think he is okay with it," Naoto said.

Kenji sat down on the bed beside the two boys. He sighed and crossed his arms over his chest; his high ponytail swished around with subtle movement. "I see. Now I understand why mom beat you, Naoto . . ."

"You do?"

"Of course. It's obvious; I thought it was stupid that you tried to recover from your wounds in the vegetable garden . . . What made you feel the need to do that?"

"Before I tell you the answer, what reason do you have as to why Tomoe injured me?"

"You slit her on the arm . . . Accidentally, I suppose," Kenji told the sky-blue-haired child. "However, if you don't recall how that happened, then I guess it can't be helped."

"I thought she hid it," Ietsuna stated.

"She showed me, but she never showed dad. Now answer my question, Naoto, because it's your turn to do the talking."

Naoto gulped and wondered if he really should tell his brothers the reason for his decision that day. "Well . . . I wanted to face the problem alone since it was all my fault. I didn't want daddy to have to worry about me."

"What do you think could have happened to you if dad never found you?" Kenji was keenly interested, and wanted to know what his little brother would have felt.

"I don't know . . ."

"Heh, don't worry. There's no way you would've stayed out there all night, anyway. It was really chilly that evening."

"I guess . . ."

"And about that interrogation thing, I should call it off. You've shown me proof enough that the two of you don't like her."

--

"I need to get out of here . . . I need to go cool off somewhere," Kaoru said.

"You're going to go out drinking?" Kenshin asked.

"Yes, and don't even try to stop me."

"I won't. After all, I don't control your life. Are you going to come back here afterwards?" Kaoru nodded. "Okay, don't get too drunk . . ."

"Don't count on it," Kaoru replied, brushing past Kenshin. Today had really hurt - Kaoru was frustrated at herself that she couldn't make Kenshin's kids like her; she couldn't gain their trust. Nothing seemed to be working. A inkling feeling from within her told her that it was due to Tomoe . . . Had she altered their brains that much?

Kaoru sat on a bar stool by herself as she drank shot after shot of beer. The only thing she wanted to do as of right now was to forget - to drown out her sorrows. Hell, she wondered why she was so worried. She was wondering if it was even necessary to make them like her; what was she doing wrong? Was she trying too hard? Kaoru really wanted to forget . . . Even if it was just for one night.

The bartender looked at Kaoru in a concerned manner when she downed her tenth shot of alcohol. Her face was extremely red and she had a hard time focusing on the glass before her. Kaoru struggled to bring the cup to her mouth as her fingers began to tremble. A big, cold hand stopped her.

"I think that's enough, Kaoru."

"Who are you to tell me when I've had--"

Her words were cut off when a hand clamped down over her mouth. Piercing ice-blue eyes glared at her cloudy ones. "Your breath reeks. I advise you shut your mouth."

Kaoru yanked the man's hand away. She had a hard time figuring out who it was that was interrupting her drinking. "Listen, you! Don't tell me what to do, okay? I can take care of myself!"

"Um, mister," the bartender said, voice filled with uncertainty.

"I know her. Don't worry about it. I'll just take her back to her friend's home." The bartender shrugged before walking away to another customer that was patiently waiting for him. Annoyed with Kaoru's boisterous struggling he lifted her easily off of the ground and left the bar. Many of the costumers sitting around the place looked at the two in bewilderment when the man was carrying the woman towards the entrance. "I don't think Kenshin would appreciate this too much. You should be lucky that I ran into you."

"Go fuck yourself, dammit! Leave me alone!" Kaoru tried to break away from the man's tight grip on her wrist because he was no longer hauling her by a shoulder - he simply wouldn't let go. Begrudgingly, she then complied with his wishes.

Upon Kaoru's arrival at the Himuras' she spotted Kenji on the couch. He was fast asleep with the t.v. still on. Kaoru approached him, and little did she know that someone was watching them from the window . . .

"Hi, Kenshin!" The raven-haired woman threw herself on top of the kid, and kissed him hard and fully on the lips. Fully awake now, Kenji reacted by shoving Kaoru hard on the chest, not caring whether he grabbed her chest or not.

"What the hell are you doing!" Kenji shouted, wiping at his mouth with one arm.

"What's the matter, Kenshin?" she asked, looking hurt.

"Kenshin?" Kenji's eyes grew very wide. "I'm not Kenshin."

"Kenshin . . . Why did you push me away?"

"Daaaaaddddd!" Kenji shouted at the top of his lungs.

By the time Kenshin arrived Kaoru was straddling his son, trying to take his shirt off. Naoto and Ietsuna also came to see what the ruckus was all about.

"What is Kaoru doing to Kenji?" Ietsuna asked.

"Dad, help me!" Kenji grunted in annoyance as he tried to keep Kaoru's grappling hands from ripping his shirt to shreds. She was quite vicious when she was drunk and wanted to have sex. "She's so drunk that she thinks I'm you! She literally attacked me while I was sleeping on the couch!"

Kenshin flushed, well aware of what the woman's intentions were, however, it was inappropriate to be doing it with his son. He was only thirteen not to mention. Getting behind Kaoru he struggled to haul her upright because she suddenly went limp when she felt arms grabbing at her. Kenshin almost dropped her, and if that had happened she would've done some damage to his son who was underneath.

Turning to Ietsuna, Naoto said, "she's dunk . . . And she's acting really weird."

"I know," Ietsuna replied.

Chapter 21: END


	22. Chp 22: Taking Action PART 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 22: Taking Action (Part 2)

By: LadyYuina

"Kenji, good morning!"

Kenji turned his head slowly, oh, ever so slowly. Perfume enveloped the entire classroom, and the smell was so strong that even girls were gagging from it. Coming face to face with Haruna, Kenji's eyes widened in surprise. "What the hell? What did you do to yourself?"

"Don't you like it?" Haruna hooked an arm between Kenji's own; he tried to shrug her off, but she wouldn't let go. "I know you're into older women, so I became more mature for you."

The smell of the perfume was so strong that Kenji nearly wanted to pass out. However, he wasn't going to let that happen, by doing the smartest thing he could possibly do - cover one's mouth and nose.

"You call," he looked Haruna up and down, and she blushed at the gesture, "overuse of lipstick, eye shadow, blush, eye liner, compact powder, and glitter a good makeover for your face?" She nodded, eagerly wanting Kenji to agree. "Truth be told, I think you look horrid under that mountain of make-up. You were much better looking as the normal high school student, Haruna."

"B-but, I thought you liked older women," Haruna said again.

"Where did you get that assumption from?"

Unsure of how to answer, Haruna let go of Kenji's arm, but now he grabbed her and wouldn't let go. "I . . . err . . . I . . ."

"You . . .?"

Embarrassed brown eyes met with those of calm blue ones. "I saw you last night."

"You were snooping around the outside of my home?" Kenji sighed and shook his head. His hold on Haruna became tighter when she tried to shrug him off. "Tell me, how did you find out where I lived?"

"That's confidential information, so no can do, Kenji! And can you please let go of my arm; class is about to start!"

Before he did let go though, he whispered into one of her ears, "you better not stalk me if you know what's good for you."

"R-right, Kenji . . ."

"Good." He then let her arm go, and took his seat at his desk. All the other girls in the classroom watched him as he sat down, and directed his attention to the front of the classroom. Little did he know that soft, brown eyes were watching him intensely.

--

At lunch that day Kenji sat under a lone oak tree situated to the right of the school's cafeteria; he never ate inside there since it was too crowded for his liking. A black-haired, brown-eyed girl walked up him, smiling as she sat down beside him.

"What do you want?" Kenji asked.

"I wanted to apologize about earlier . . . I'm back to being me again, Kenji. I assumed you like older women . . . You do, don't you?"

"No."

"Oh. What I saw last night made me think otherwise." A light blush crawled up her cheeks; strangely enough she went back to being shy and subtle once again. "All I really want is for you to like me."

"Just be yourself and I'll like you . . ." Haruna looked at him expectantly, ". . . as a friend," he finished. She frowned, not liking his response. "Haruna, there are tons of guys out there; it's not like I'm the only guy you'll ever like. Besides, there's no need to be in a relationship; save that for high school, eh?" Haruna laughed, whilst covering her mouth from view with both of her hands. "You find this funny?"

"Yup. And I think you're really cute, so I want to go after you. I'll try harder and harder to make you like me."

"Girls . . ."

"So . . . Are we considered friends for now, then?" Kenji nodded and smiled at her. Haruna glowed with happiness at such a sight; he was giving her a genuine smile. One that was only for her. "Thanks, Kenji."

"We're only friends." He narrowed his eyes at her on this last part. "You better not go telling other people that we're a couple."

"Okay. Hahahahaha."

--

"Hey, there." Yumi sat down by Shishio. "How did your meeting with Daigoro go? He gave you any trouble?"

"None whatsoever. Everything went fine, although he refused to tell me anything too secretive." Yumi smiled at her boyfriend. "How about you tell me some things, since Daigoro trusts you completely."

"No can do. Daigoro and I made a promise to each other."

"You hurt me, Yumi. How can you be so cruel?" Shishio joked. He sighed and leaned back against the head rest of the small couch he was sitting on. Looking up at the ceiling he thought back to the time he and Daigoro spent with each other on that rainy day.

(Flashback)

"Gosh, it's really raining quite hard," Daigoro noted, while looking out one of his living room windows. "It kind of reminds me of angry Water God showering his rage upon the world."

"You have a very descriptive, or rather I say, a imaginative mind." Daigoro turned to Shishio, surprised by the compliment he'd just received. "I guess that's what makes you such a good writer."

"Um, thank you." A light blush crawled up the youth's cheeks, as he meekly looked to the floor beneath his feet. Shishio watched the kid closely as his eyes stayed glued to the floor. "You know," he suddenly started, "I used to believe that the sky really did have a God that made it rain whenever he was angry. And if it rained really hard, that meant that he was throwing a fit up in his castle above the clouds in the heavens. In fact, I've even started a book centering around this."

"How interesting."

"You think so?" Daigoro now turned his gaze up towards the other man. Shishio nodded. "Well, uh, I guess - thank you, again. You're a very interesting man, Shishio. I'd like to say that sometimes it's hard to find words to describe your character."

Shishio laughed, intrigued by the boy's odd way of thinking. He happily patted Daigoro on the back before standing up to fix his tie and coat.

"You're leaving already?" Daigoro asked, hesitantly at best.

"Yeah, duty calls, you know. I just remembered that there's a document that needs to be revised by tomorrow. Anyway, it was nice chatting with you, and listen here, Daigoro, if you feel like unraveling in front of me, I won't mind."

"R-right."

Heading towards the front door, Shishio made sure to say goodbye before walking out into the drizzling rain.

(Flashback: END)

--

Kaoru sighed and absentmindedly nibbled at a apple. She was well aware that Naoto and Ietsuna were across the table from her, practically watching her every action. It somewhat unnerved her though, yet she said nothing of it. Carefully glancing across the table, Kaoru slowly let her ocean-blue eyes train themselves onto those of cyan-colored ones.

Naoto's expression was unreadable - for once Kaoru couldn't tell what he was feeling. Was it anger? Indifference? Dislike? It could have been anything that was being secretly concealed by the child's impenetrable mask.

Her eyes never let Naoto's when the younger boy with wide green eyes insistently nudged his older sibling. He heeded his brother no mind - Naoto's only focus was towards the woman across from them; the same went for her, as well. It was strange, really; no matter how long they stared at each other they couldn't seem to catch the other's hints or intentions at all.

"Naoto, Ietsuna . . . May we talk?" Kaoru broke the silence.

"I find no reason to," Naoto replied. His blue-colored eyes hardened considerably; he was finally showing Kaoru that he was indeed angry. "Let's get one thing straight, though. No matter what you do, Ietsuna and I will never like you. You don't belong here with me, my brothers, or my father. You stick out like a sore thumb; like a bad pea in a pod. If you know what's best for you, then I suggest you leave here and never come back."

"Yeah," Ietsuna added, quite unaware of the amount of tension that was building between his brother and Kaoru.

"Are you two threatening me?" Kaoru incredulously asked.

"What does it look like to you?" Naoto made sure to lower his voice.

Putting down the red apple she was nibbling on earlier, Kaoru thought it was her turn to take a stand. Sure, these kids can drive her nuts, but she wasn't going to let them chase her away simply because they didn't like her. No, far from it. She was going to tell them that she had no intention of leaving anytime soon - this was her resolution.

"Listen, Naoto, Ietsuna, you two have no right to boss me around. I am not your enemy no matter how you'd like to think so." Much like a business woman that she used to be not so long ago, she slammed her palms down onto the table for emphasis. She could tell it was working, because Naoto and Ietsuna looked on, slightly startled. "I love your dad, so I don't see any reason as to why I should stop seeing him altogether. It is true that the two of you don't like me, however, I'm sure we can settle our disputes over time."

"No way! You're so annoying that Ietsuna and I can't stand the sight of you!" Naoto spat. "I'd rather have Aoshi live with us instead of you!"

"What . . . What did you just say?" Kaoru asked, voice filled with disbelief.

"You heard him the first time," Ietsuna countered, trying to sound as haughty as possible.

"Aoshi, huh? That fucking bastard, eh? That cold, unfeeling bastard live here instead of me?" Both of the boys nodded. "Heh, I find that rather funny . . . You two are so rotten to the core that you'd prefer someone rotten like Aoshi to come live with you guys. Well, guess what, your mother and father tossed the both of you away because you two are such jackasses."

"I hate you!" Ietsuna shouted. His eyes watered profusely, threatening to have tears fall. "I hate you so much! You are so mean!"

"What! You guys started this!" Kaoru was now suddenly feeling very childish. Her ocean-blue eyes flared angrily as she pointed a finger accusingly at Naoto.

"Shut the hell up! What would you know about my real daddy and mommy! You have no right to talk about how we were like towards them! You don't know anything about them; you don't know anything about us!"

Strangely so, Naoto's words painfully stung at Kaoru. She knew she shouldn't feel so much guilt about such a thing, but it was hard not to. She reared her ugly head and snapped at the siblings, and they in turn, snapped right back.

"Come on, Naoto . . . Let's leave if she doesn't want to," Ietsuna told his brother.

Barely catching a cleat audio of what they were saying, Kaoru merely let them quickly walk past her. The sound of a bedroom door slamming almost didn't register in her mind; she was now lost in her own little world.

--

In their much needed haste to get away, Ietsuna grabbed whatever clean clothes he had, and shoved them inside a small suitcase he'd kept with him ever since he moved in with Kenshin. Naoto silently watched his brother as he packed - he knew that if they did this, then there was going to be dire consequences. Many of them, too.

"Hurry and pack your things," Ietsuna said.

"There'll be . . ."

"There'll be what?" Ietsuna asked, when Naoto didn't look like he was going to finish his sentence anytime soon.

"Never mind. It's nothing."

Once they were both done packing, they went into the kitchen to see that Kaoru was no longer there. She had even left a note on table for their father.

It read:

_Kenshin, I'm going out for a while. I need to cool down, so I'll see you later. Love you!_

_P.S. Your kids can be such a pain, but . . ._

A napkin blocked out the rest of the words, though it didn't really matter. Naoto didn't have the intention of reading the whole note to begin with anyway.

Getting whatever provisions they could carry the two brothers then stepped foot out the front door. Together they were going to explore the world alone with no adults to hinder them.

Chapter 22: END


	23. Chp 23: Taking Action PART 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Okita is a really, really, really persistent guy. Soujirou, on the other hand, gives up too damn easily. XD And they constantly spout this and that to one another. Poor guys. : ( Also, I would have updated sooner if I weren't so busy. Woe me.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 23: Taking Action (Part 3)

By: LadyYuina

Soujirou kept crying until he no longer had any tears left to shed. His eyes were dried up like old wrinkly prunes, and he was now exhausted. After having packed his belongings he leaned back against his large suitcase to rest. Even though his eyes were closed he knew that Okita had entered their room to talk to him. Without opening his eyes Soujirou dejectedly sighed - he didn't know if Okita was going to cease trying. Breaking traditions was much too hard for poor Soujirou - this was simply something he couldn't handle.

"Soujirou, please don't do this to me--"

"Oh, stop it, Okita," Soujirou said, almost jokingly at most. "You should know when it's no use."

"You still love me, don't you?"

"I . . . well, of course I do. Do you doubt my feelings for you now?"

"Somewhat . . ." Okita sat down beside his former lover and watched him breathe for a moment. He liked how Soujirou was leaned back with his eyes closed. Okita's gaze then wandered to his lover's lips, and he was finding it hard not to kiss the damn fool - miraculously this time no such thing happened, though. Something weighed heavily upon the both of them; it was much more important than a simple kiss. "Your actions make me believe your heart is wavering; you're losing your faith in us. That's how you make me feel now."

"Enough of that bullshit. Sappy words don't work on me, remember? Do not think of me as being as emotional as a woman, because I am not one," Soujirou explained. He opened his eyes when he felt a certain amount of weight pushed atop him. He came face to face with his lover. "Get off me. This is really no time to joke around; I should really be on my way."

"Are you saying--"

"I already told you our relationship has ended. Move off me so I can leave. I think I've caused enough trouble as it is." Okita looked at him hopefully; Soujirou knew all too well what he was looking hopeful for. "Whatever you do or say I will not marry you. If it must be done, I'll even suggest to your father to get you a wife. How does that sound?"

"No. All I want is you. The person I want to spend the rest of my days with is you. No one else."

"We're two selfish men, eh?"

Having caught Okita off guard Soujirou took the chance to slip out from underneath the other man. Unlike before, Okita did not bother to display a unhappy face when Soujirou walked away this time - he had the intention of stopping the brunette-haired man from leaving at all costs. Before the blue-eyed youth knew it, he was fell flat on his face as Okita tripped his purposely. Okita was on top of his before he could begin to lift himself from the ground; all of his body weight was placed on the other man.

"I'm not kidding," Soujirou grunted, "let me leave."

"I'm not messing around either, Sou-chan. I really don't want you to leave me."

"You can't keep me here no matter what you try. I'm going to leave and that's final." Soujirou sounded quite determined. He wiggled underneath Okita a little, but found that he couldn't find any means of an escape. "If your father sees us like this, he'll--"

"He'll do what? He can't stop me from loving you. I already told you that I wanted to marry me, and I won't change my mind, you hear?" Soujirou slowly nodded. "Then let's make it happen."

"Sou--, oh, am I interrupting something?" Mrs. Okita asked, when she accidentally barged in on them. Her face flushed a light crimson, but that was all.

Soujirou took the chance to get away from Okita since he abruptly got off of him when Mrs. Okita barged in on them. "Excuse me, Soushi, Mrs. Okita, I'll be on my way now. I can never thank you enough for your hospitality."

"You're leaving?" Mrs. Okita asked, overly surprised. "Didn't we--"

"It's okay. I'd rather have it this way. Thank you again for letting me live here for so long. I've intruded upon your family long enough." Soujirou said again. From the corner of his eyes he could see Okita's defeated form squatting on the floor. By instinct he wanted to run to him and comfort him like how he used to usually do, yet he didn't this time because he needed to let him go.

Before Soujirou left the house he made sure to leave a letter in Mr. Okita's bedroom before slipping out quietly.

--

Later that day when Mr. Okita entered his room he saw a large cream-colored envelope sitting on his pillow; it was emblazoned with red lettering on the outside. Taking less than seven steps he quickly reached his bedside, and picked up the envelope. Within moments the letter was open and spread out in his hands.

Dear Mr. Okita,

By the time you read this I should be gone. The promise I made to you that day I'll make sure to keep my word and not marry your son. Heh, in actuality I'm rather afraid after all . . . Marrying another man means no children of my own, and it'd certainly shun your family from your many relations with other families. I don't want anything like that to happen at all. Please, for Okita's sake I want you to find him a wonderful woman and wed him off. It'd be better for him if that's the case; anyway, didn't you want him to marry a woman in the first place? I just hope Okita does the right thing and not chase after me. Perhaps you can make that problem of his disappear for me.

Well, I'm sure you're glad that I've left your home; I've always had a feeling that you didn't like me very much, but that's all right. I don't hate you for it. In fact, I find it understandable why you don't like me. I think I should finish up now; I have not much time to write before Okita comes looking for me. What I'd like to say is thank you for letting me reside in your home for these past few years, especially when you dislike me, too. My gratitude towards you and your family is infinite, and I do hope in the near future that perhaps we can finally get along when I become a bit older and have children of my own. Boy, what a dream, huh?

Sincerely, Soujirou Seta

"So, that's how it ends, eh, Soujirou? You spineless fool," Mr. Okita said to himself. He knew that if Soujirou had tried a little harder he would have relented. It was too bad that he left though. "If you truly want my son to wed a female, I'll certainly see to that."

Mr. Okita already had a certain girl in mind.

Hagokichi Haruna.

--

Soujirou never thought that he'd go back home, but he was. Much like Okita's family, his family was traditional, too, though they were much more lenient than the Okitas. All of this felt like a dream to Soujirou; a dream that he hoped he could wake up from. Here he was sitting on a bench awaiting the arrival of the Yamato train to take him back across the expanse of a country towards a reclusive mountain top terrain. At the base of the mountain there was also a train station called Fujioka station. Soujirou only remembered using that station often when he was merely a boy.

Once the train arrived at the designated spot, tons of people flooded out to go to their respected directions of choice. Soujirou looked around; it was as if he was expecting to see someone familiar, yet he knew that he shouldn't expect something like that. He didn't even tell his family ahead of time that he was coming home.

"I wonder what they will think when I show up at the front door?" Soujirou asked himself. "Best to go and find out."

The great large ancient-looking Japanese mansion could be seen through the treetops, as Soujirou walked along a winding trail. He hadn't stepped foot on these worn pathways in years. Feeling it underneath his feet again brought on a new sensation; the motions, sounds, and smells . . . everything. Things up in the mountains were always different from the hustling and bustling of a suburb or city.

Walking a little further up the path, Soujirou spotted a child playing with a orange-colored ball. The child looked up when he approached, a huge grin was plastered on her face when she saw him.

"Seta?" Bright blue eyes sparkled with happiness. "It really is you, Seta! Welcome back!"

"Nana, hey," Soujirou dumbly greeted. He extended out a hand to her when she reached for his. "It's great to be back."

"You look different, Seta. Why did you decide to come back now?"

Soujirou looked the child up and down. She was dressed in a purple-colored yukata with a simple red obi. If he'd known any better, he was sure that Nana was seven now. He hadn't much time to dwell on such thoughts though.

"Seta, why did you decide to come back?" Nana asked again.

"Oh . . . I thought I'd come visit you all. It's been so long since I've been here, Nana. Has anything changed much?"

"Hmmm," Nana scrunched up her face as she thought back on previous events. "Other than Aunt Shizu staying at the hospital, nothing else has changed."

"Wait, what? Aunt Shizu is in the hospital?" Soujirou stopped walking altogether; Nana stopped a little farther up ahead. "Why is she in the hospital?"

"She says she's okay; she'll come home soon."

"I see . . . Never mind then."

Soujirou followed Nana towards the mansion. He didn't want to startle the child, so he remained silent the rest of the way. Once he was inside the mansion he could either get answers from his father or mother.

Much was to be expected when Soujirou set foot inside. All the servants that saw him immediately stopped what they were doing to greet him a warm welcome back. Soujirou felt awkward standing there while everyone reverted their gaze from him as they stood to attention. It seemed like not of the house servants had been changed except for a few. Most of them were still working here; he remembered seeing them before he left several years ago.

"Mom should be in the living room, Seta," Nana told him. "Come on, I think she'll be happy to see you. Give your luggage to one of the servants; they'll take care of it."

"Uh, right." Soujirou handed his luggage to a large-eyed man whom he recalled as Kawasaki Shouta, before he followed after his sister.

His mother was quite surprised to see him, since he suddenly came home without calling or mailing a letter first. Her usually composed posture was lacking substance today due to the arrival of her only son.

"Seta, you're home!" she exclaimed, somewhat overjoyed. Soujirou remained stiffly still when she walked up to him to hold onto his hands. Her dark-blue clad arms then circled his thin frame in a hug. "Welcome back."

"Mom . . . Sorry to come barging in without so much as a notice beforehand. You see, it was rather urgent that I return, so I didn't have the time to send a mail or make a call. Please forgive me for my inconsiderate behavior."

Compelled to sit back down in orderly woman fashion, Mrs. Soujirou did just that. Once she was comfortably seated she began to talk. "Whatever the urgency it does not matter at the moment. It is really nice to see you again after all these lonely years without you."

"Hey! You still had me!" Nana butted in. She jutted her lower jaw out, and crossed her arms in an annoyed manner.

Mrs. Soujirou lightly giggled. "Yes, I had you, but I miss my son, too." She turned to Soujirou after looking at her daughter. "Since you've just arrived home, I'll ask one of the servants to prepare us tea. Your father isn't home, so you'll see him in a day or two."

"Where did he go?" Soujirou asked.

"He's with your Aunt Shizu."

"Oh . . ." Soujirou looked crestfallen.

--

"Daddy, where's Soujirou?" Suzume asked. "He said he was going to build a kite with me today."

"I don't know, Suzume. Go ask Okita; he knows him best," Saitou replied. His gaze turned towards the white-haired man that sat across from him. "Sorry for the interruption, Enishi. You know how kids can be these days."

"That wasn't a problem at all. I'm used to it by now."

Meanwhile, Suzume went around the house looking for Okita. Mango, the brown cocker spaniel followed close behind her heels as she searched high and low around the place. Not having any luck inside, she decided to go out into the backyard, hoping that Okita and Soujirou were perhaps together. To her dismay she saw her uncle stooped by a tree as he softly cried.

"Uncle Okita?"

He slowly looked up at her; his eyes were puffy and red.

"Suzume," he breathed out.

"Uncle Okita . . . Did something happen?" The child took tentative steps forward until she was able to place a small hand on his shoulder. "Why are you crying? Did you get a booboo?"

"Yes, I did."

"Want me to kiss it to make it feel better?"

Wiping his yukata sleeve over his eyes, he replied, "no thank you, Suzume, I'm all right now." To back up his statement he moved his hand away from his eyes to smile at her as happily as he could manage to.

Chapter 23: END


	24. Chp 24: All Alone

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 24: All Alone

By: LadyYuina

Kenji came home several hours after school was out to see a note sitting on the kitchen. Picking it up he read the contents written upon it in messy handwriting:

Kenshin, I'm going out for a while. I need to cool down so I'll see you later. Love you!

P.S. Your kids can be such a pain . . . But . . . I still like them regardless of that fact. I guess it's all a part about growing up, huh?

"Heh. Adults these days," Kenji muttered to himself. Slinging his backpack on the couch opposite the front door, Kenji headed straight to his little brother's rooms to greet them. He went there only to find out that they were unoccupied. Somewhat perturbed, he searched around the house while calling out their names. "Naoto? Ietsuna? Where are you two? Are you guys playing hide-and-see?"

No answer.

"Guys?"

"I'm home!" he could hear his father's voice float down the hallway at the front door.

"Welcome back, dad!" Kenji shouted back. "You had to stay after school today for a bit?"

"Yeah. Get your brothers because I want to take you all out for dinner tonight."

Kenji frowned and made his way towards his father. As he passed by the kitchen he made sure to take Kaoru's note with him; thrusting it in Kenshin's face he silently demanded that his father read what was on the paper.

"She's not here, and is that a problem?" Kenshin asked.

"Yes, that is a problem; if she wrote something like this then it means that she must have gotten into another argument with Naoto and Ietsuna. And for starters, I can't find the munchkins anywhere. If you inspect their room long enough you'll notice that all their clothes are gone, or at least most of it."

"What!"

Kenshin didn't waste a moment as he rushed past his son to enter the sibling's bedroom. Kenji was right - literally all their clothes were gone. Panicking, he went for the phone in the kitchen and dialed the Okitas; he wanted to talk to Saitou. Kenji silently watched his father as he nearly yelled into the phone piece. Once Kenshin hung up he stumbled towards the living room to sit down on one of the couches.

"What did Saitou say?" Kenji wanted to know after all the yelling his father did.

"He said he'll contact the police headquarters tomorrow. Children or adults can't be deemed missing until twenty-fours has gone by." Kenshin looked at Kenji hopelessly. "All this . . . It's all my fault that they are gone. If only I paid more attention to them."

"Dad, it's not your fault at all. It's just that they can't get along with Kaoru. Maybe you should stop seeing her if you know what I mean. It's very obvious that Naoto and Ietsuna don't like her."

"Simply because they dislike her is not a good enough of a reason for me to leave her. She's really nice . . . They're not really giving her any chances. They refuse to get along with Kaoru." Sad amethyst orbs stared into indecisive blue ones. "They've had a rough past, so it's quite understandable that they don't like her, although I do believe that they should put more effort into making things work out."

"A effort too many if you ask me," Kenji added. "If you want this family to fall apart, then it's your own problem. If you need me for anything I'll be in my room on the lookout for the two rascals. That's if they ever decide to come back."

Once Kenji disappeared up the stairs, Kenshin whispered to himself, "let . . . this family fall apart?"

--

Little did Kaoru know that at Kenshin's home, poor Naoto and Ietsuna were missing. She was at the bar again, trying to drink away her problems and low self-esteem. No matter what happened she was always sure that she'd recover, although that was a lie in and upon itself.

She watched as brownish-colored liquid sparkled within its cup, as the lights above her illuminated the ice inside the confined cubicle. Rivets of water dripped down the sides as the ice continually melted, due to the temperature's heat within the bar.

It never occurred to Kaoru that she was being watched not too far away. Predatory hazel-colored eyes stared on hungrily, eager to get its eyes on the naked form of the drunk woman sitting on the bar stool. It was only a matter of time until the raven-haired woman had enough to drink, and leave the place. The hazel-eyed man was sure to follow.

"Whoa, Kaoru, you've been coming here a lot lately. Been having problems?" the bartender asked her. She looked up at him and nodded. "I see . . . I don't think you should be drinking so much. After all, it's not good for your health."

"I don't care, Jabu," Kaoru replied, waving a hand slowly in the air in the bartender's supposed direction of where he was. "You know me well enough . . ."

"You're already drunk after three shots. If you don't want a head-splitting hangover, then I suggest for you to go on home, Kaoru." Jabu was really worried about her. When she tried to reach for the small glass he pulled it away from her grasp, eyes clearly signaling for her to head out. "I mean it, Kaoru."

"Stop picking on me!" Kaoru shrieked. All heads within the bar turned to look at her for a moment. As usual when she was drunk she always caused some sort of commotion. "You're so mean, Jabu! Fine, if you want to me leave, I think I will!"

Completely disoriented, Kaoru stumbled out of the bar into the cold night air. She shivered at the sudden change in temperature; it went from warm to cold in an instant. Her state of mind didn't really register that she had a change of atmosphere. When she finally did realize that she was outside, she had looked up at the sky to see the stars twinkling brightly.

"Wow! It's already dark outside! No wonder it's so cold!" Kaoru screamed to no one in particular. Swinging her arms out gaily she started to trot along her merrily way. She didn't give a damn who saw her; right now at this moment Kaoru felt free and all her troubles were forgotten. At least they were forgotten for now. "Aaahhhh, this feels great! I feel as if I don't have a care in the world! Not a single concern in this entire messed up world! Wonderful!"

"Has that girl gone insane?"

"Nah, she's just drunk."

"Poor, dear. There goes another one craving for the effects of alcohol to forget her problems even if it is only for a day. Really now, Sae, what do you think about why girls these days are wild?"

"Oh, mom, just leave her alone."

People talked and whispered, though Kaoru didn't care. Really, she felt like all of her burdens were lifted. If only it lasted forever . . . If only . . . Right when Kaoru turned the corner by a dark alley way, someone roughly pulled her by an arm into the pitch black part of the alley. She fell ungraciously to the hard cement when a pair of hands shoved her down forcefully.

"Hey!" Kaoru squeaked, trying to get up as she talked. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Better hush up, missy, if you know what's good for you," someone warned. "I wouldn't want to gag you since it wouldn't be fun if I did so. I'd love to hear your moans from underneath me."

"Get off of her." A pair of ice-blue eyes stared at Kaoru and at the man that was straddling her.

"And who the hell are you, huh?"

"Ah . . ." Kaoru was speechless; even though she was drunk she was well aware of who it was that came to save her.

--

What Kenji said struck at Kenshin hard; he had never thought of his family ever falling apart at all. At least what is remaining of it, anyway. Maybe he was too caught up in the idea of having a love-dovey family . . . Surely, nothing like that can last forever, right? Without hesitating any longer Kenshin put on his coat and bolted out the front door. From up above the second floor, Kenji looked out his bedroom window to see his father get into his car and drive down the street.

"That's right, dad, if you want to keep this family together, you better go after them. Unlike mom . . . I know you'll do the right thing."

Kenshin was so agitated that he almost ran into another car at one point when he was searching for his two missing children. God knows where they went! All Kenshin wanted was to have them back home safe and sound. Whatever had happened between Kaoru and the two boys must have been really serious this time, to drive his children to the extremity of running away. Still, he loved the raven-haired woman; letting her go wasn't something he looked forward to doing.

"It's very clear to me that Naoto and Ietsuna do not like her. I know that for sure . . ."

Kenji's words echoed inside his head. Sometimes, he hated his son for being so wise in what he'd say. Most of the time things his eldest son did say was always meaningful; most words did not go wasted from Kenji. In a worldly sense, his son and him were on different levels, with Kenji being much higher of course.

"Dammit, Naoto, Ietsuna, where did the two of you go?"

While Kenshin was frantically searching, the sky-blue haired child and his brown-haired brother weren't that far away from where he was looking. Naoto concealed himself and his brother behind a large fir tree when he saw the headlights flashing their way. With a careful peek from behind the tree Naoto saw that it was their father.

"Move farther back behind the tree, Ietsuna. We don't want people to see us," Naoto told the younger boy.

"But isn't that daddy's car?" Ietsuna asked. He tried to peek around the tree as well, only to be pushed back behind it by his brother. "That was daddy's car, wasn't it?"

"Hush, Ietsuna; we escaped from Kaoru. I don't have any intention of going back just yet. We're not going back yet, you hear me?"

"I want to go home." Ietsuna was on the verge of spilling tears. "It's cold out here; I'm hungry and it's so dark outside. It's really scary."

"Don't start crying because you're gonna make me wanna cry, too . . ." Naoto softly whimpered. It was much too late though, tears, too, started to flow down Naoto's cheeks when he saw Ietsuna's go running down his own flushed ones. "Come on . . . Let's go to sleep in the playground in the park. It'll be a little warmer there . . ."

"We should go home," Ietsuna urged.

"We can't . . . As long as Kaoru is there I never ever want to go back home. I'd rather live out here."

Back at home Kenji sat by his bedroom window as he listlessly stared out of the glass panes. He could easily recall when he ran away from home. It saddened him that his mother didn't care then.

(Flashback)

"I hate this stupid house! Come on, Reki, let's go!" Reki, which was his stuffed dinosaur trailed along behind him as he towed it along by an arm. "Mommy doesn't care about us! She never cares about anything or anyone other than herself!"

"That's right, brat . . . I'd be glad to be rid of you. Leave this house for all I care; don't expect me to go looking for you." Her voice was pouring out with hatred. However, from her seated position on the one-man couch he couldn't tell if his mother was scowling or smirking. "I'm really tired of you, so just leave . . ."

"Fine! I'll be going now!" Kenji declared.

Here he was only a seven-year-old boy trying to run away from home - trying to get away from his mother. His first steps out of the house of his own free accord was a new sensation for him to do so. He was not confined by anything because there was nothing to stop him from leaving. Somewhat excited by it all he ran on down the street to the nearby bridge, that bordered a small creek flowing below it. Deciding that he was going to hide underneath it he went down on all fours beneath a large gap under the blue metal bars. Reki went tumbling down the steep slope of mounted dirt, when Kenji accidentally lost his grip on him. He looked down fearfully, afraid of the far climb down if he wanted to retrieve his buddy.

"Come on, Kenji, if Reki can do it, then Kenji can, too!"

Upon his first step going down he slipped on a large rock and went tumbling. He made contact with many sharp, rough, and edgy objects that poked at him as he rolled. Halfway down the fall one of his elbow slammed into a really large boulder and in that instant he broke his left arm. Kenji cried out in pain at the impact as he fell farther and farther down. Once he finally reached the bottom Reki was lying right beside him on the mud-covered bank. Tears, much like small waterfalls, fell down from his eyes.

"Daddy . . . Mommy, even . . . Please come and help me . . ."

(Flashback: END)

"That memory . . . It still haunts me. Why can't bad memories like that be forgotten?"

Kenji rolled over on his side on the floor, for once he was too tired to stare out the window any longer. Memories such as the one he remembered never did him any good - they only made him feel all depressed inside.

Chapter 24: END


	25. Chp 25: Utterly Defeated From Within

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: I haven't really covered much about Misao/Magdaria/(more like excluding)Kaoru, but yeah, they did stuff together . . . Misao/Magdaria supposedly, at least. XD And . . . I don't really like this chapter . . . It's so, erm, corny. :-O

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 25: Utterly Defeated From Within

By: LadyYuina

Somewhere within the hospital a line went dead, the once beeping machine became one monotonous sound. It was a sound that no one ever wants to hear. Hunched beside a hospital bed was a long brown-haired individual who was crying for the dead figure lying on the it.

Amakusa Sayo had just passed away.

She knew her death was fast approaching; there was no doubt about it. It had been preordained ever since she was born . . . The doctors knew that she only had so many years to live. It was a sad feeling to know that someone as young as Magdaria will pass away so soon. To some extent though, her life has been filled with many wonders and adventures; there was almost never a dull moment that she could recall. Her brother made sure that she lived her life to the fullest and he did a good job of it. It was in her last puffs of breaths that she told something important to her brother:

"Shougo, under my bed . . . there's . . . there's a stack of papers. Give them to Yumi for me, please . . ."

"I understand," Shougo replied, grabbing onto one of his sister's hands with his own. "I'll make sure she gets it no matter what."

"Th-thank you . . ."

It was right at that moment when she gently closed her eyes. The beeping machine that monitored her heart stopped its "beep, beep, beep" sound, much like the thumping of her failing heart had stopped. She looked peaceful though, and to her brother that was all that mattered.

For what seemed like an eternity, with shaking hands, Shougo managed to dial Sanosuke's cell phone number. It rung three times before the spiky-haired man picked up.

"Hello?" he asked, into the phone drowsily.

"Oh, did I wake you?" Shougo's voice sounded sort of strained to Sanosuke. "If . . . If I bothered you at the wrong time, then I'll--"

"Wait, hold on. Is something the matter, Shougo?" The only thing he received was silence. "Shougo . . . Answer me . . . I know you're there. I can hear you breathing into the phone." Still, Sanosuke got no response. "Shougo . . . I hear something in the background; are you in the hospital?"

"Yes, I am." He finally said something at last.

"That sound . . . Don't tell me . . ."

"She's gone, Sanosuke. The doctors lost her a couple of hours ago."

From Sanosuke's end, he was wide-eyed with shock. Tears immediately fell from his eyes as quickly as he had first heard Shougo say that Magdaria has passed away. Sanosuke lost a friend, companion, and sister; she was almost like a younger sibling to him. Without further ado, Sanosuke quickly got dressed to head out to the hospital Magdaria usually frequented - it made him wonder why Shougo didn't tell him sooner if she had left this world earlier today. Putting his car on (almost) full speed he zoomed down the dark streets.

Shougo refused to leave Magdaria's side even though she had been lying on the hopsital bed, cold and unfeeling. Her skin now became a light bluish color. The beeper machine was turned off, and everything was silent. The only sound that broke the silence was the opening and closing of the hospital door. Shougo turned around to see Sanosuke, looking flushed, and staring straight at the bed hopelessly.

"Magdaria . . . No . . ." Sanosuke was within arm's length of the bed before Shougo realized it. The other living, breathing person in the room looked at Sanosuke with sad, mournful eyes. Without any shame at all, Sanosuke head started to weep. "She's really gone . . ."

"I know that, Sanosuke. I was with her the whole time, even to her last breath. As her brother I at least had the right."

"What about me?" Sanosuke asked. "I should've been here till her last breath, too! If only . . . If only I wasn't sleeping at home! I . . . I should have been here instead!"

"Sanosuke, you've been here for the last couple of days; your eyes were so blood-shot red that I was afraid you were going to wear yourself down. It was a good thing that you went home - you really needed rest." Shougo's hand was coldly shrugged off when he tried to pat Sanosuke by a shoulder. "You're a dear friend to me . . . I don't want to lose you, too." Even as he was speaking he felt like crying again just at the sight of watching his friend do so, although he wanted to appear strong. In his heart he knew that that was what Magdaria would have wanted.

"Don't cry too much when I'm gone, okay? You'll make the heavens pour rain down upon me," she had once told her elder brother.

"Sanosuke, I think I'm going to go home. There's something that I need to do."

"Fine. I'm going to stay here with her then."

"That's all right with me." Shougo stepped out of the hospital room's door, but stopped right before the entrance. "Before I go, Magdaria told me to tell you that such tears that fall like endless waterfalls is not needed. She said she'd be more happy if you smiled instead."

Before Sanosuke could question Shougo he had already walked down the large hallway to the left of the door. He was going home to make sure that everyone would know about the legacy of his dearest sister's life.

--

Kaoru was roughly pushed aside as the assailant turned to face her rescuer. She looked over to the man who had spoken, even though her vision was somewhat unclear and hazy, she could still make out that the man was tall with eyes as piercing as the icy night of a winter's eve. His short, bluish hair highly accentuated the chiseled features of his chin and cheeks. Somewhere in the back of Kaoru's mind he looked oddly familiar.

"What did you just say?" the other man demanded more than asked.

"Need I must repeat myself?" the blue-haired man taunted. His angry glare never faltered, nor did he even twitch once. He stood there rigid as a statue. "If your ears weren't cleaned out well enough, I said she's with me."

"Ooohhhh! She's your little girlfriend?" The man pulled out a small switch blade, and aimed it at the ready. "Come and get her from me if you can!" The assailant ran forward and tried to slash the taller man in the belly. He missed, swung his arm back and tried again; yet, once more he missed the fellow a second time. "What are you, a monkey?"

"With the way you are flailing your arms around, I'd like to say that you're the monkey," the other man replied, rather coolly.

"We'll see who's the monkey once I'm through!"

That was the last line out of the man because the tall figure that arrived to claim Kaoru knocked him out. He didn't waste a moment to pull him farther into the alley way to lay him down by a large pile of garbage. Kaoru watched with utter fascination; her eyes sparkled with delight. What she had just witnessed seemed like an action scene from a movie. With detail she could replay the event within her head.

The blue-eyed man approached her. "Are you all right?" he asked. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I'm not hurt, but that fight you just had with him was awesome! It looked like it was from an action movie!"

"Kaoru--"

"Huh? How do you know my name?" She jabbed a finger into his chest as she scowled. It didn't process in her mind that she knew this man; as a matter of fact, she knew him very well, though. "Are you a stalker of some sort?"

"Figures. You're drunk," the man replied, totally ignoring what Kaoru was asking of him. Much like a father leading his naughty daughter back home, the man led Kaoru by the hand. She took a few steps before stopping completely, demanding that she would be told his name. "My name is Aoshi . . ."

"Aoshi! Hmmm, why does your name sound so familiar? Have we met somewhere? When I was still I college I swore I had a classmate named Aoshi. We--"

"Never mind that and let's go. You'll catch a cold if you stay out here all night."

This time when Aoshi lead her again he made sure to latch onto her arm instead of her hand. In this way he had more control over her if she either tried to run or stop moving altogether. Luckily for him Kaoru cooperated and he managed to get her home to his place, since it was getting really late. It didn't surprise Aoshi at all when he laid her on his bed, that she'd fall asleep almost immediately.

"You crazy woman," he said to himself.

The next morning Aoshi woke up to the feel that he was stiff all over - that was what he got for sleeping on the couch. It may have been comfy to sit on, but not to sleep on overnight. Stretching for a moment he looked at the clock on the wall and noted that it was nine-forty-two in the morning. The apartment was completely silent save for the sound of the clock and the filtration device he used for his assorted guppy fishes. In his mind he'd make sure that Kaoru paid him back this time - after all, this wasn't his first time helping her. When he entered the kitchen he was surprised to see Kaoru slouched over the counter with her bottom cushioned on a stool.

"A-Aoshi?" she dumbly asked. Then it kicked in high-gear as to where she was. "Aoshi! What the hell am I doing here?"

Aoshi grimaced at Kaoru, and he was surprised that she could be so loud, especially so in the morning nonetheless.

"Before you start jumping to idiotic assumptions, let me explain," Aoshi started. He waited until Kaoru stopped ranting . . . In which she took up several minutes of his young life. Really . . . He could have used those minutes for something else, something that was of more importance. "Like usual you got drunk again - you should be happy that I happened to see you and that guy head into the alley way." Kaoru gave him a perplexed look. "He would have taken advantage of you if I wasn't there to save your pathetic hide."

"P-p-pathetic hide!" Kaoru's nostrils flared angrily. "You're the pathetic one! You stole my job, because you got fired from your other one! I know it!"

"Heh, bringing up something like that? How lame can you be?" Aoshi reprimanded. "And I did not get fired from my other job. I simply switched office buildings. Apparently, they had no space so they had to lay someone off from your division. Don't blame me because you weren't good enough to keep."

"I thought we were friends now!" Kaoru nearly cried out in hysteria. Although her hands immediately went up to the sides of her head from her ear-splitting headache, she managed to glare at him all the same. He glared right back at her. "I thought we are friends!"

"I never said we weren't friends . . ."

"What? Did I . . . Did I just hear you say that?" Kaoru was finding it kind of hard to believe. Aoshi crossed his arms and merely stared at her. "I did just hear that . . . Didn't I?"

"If you want it any other way then keep babbling."

"Oh well, thanks for helping me back there, even though I don't remember meeting a guy, but if you said so . . ."

Aoshi sweat dropped and tuned out the sound of the raven-haired woman's voice. Now he remembered why he didn't recall half of the things she said to him in college - it was because she talked a little too much. Much more than the average female would, at least in his opinion. If only Kaoru couldn't be any more crazier.

"I am really grateful for what you did for me. You know, I could have ended up anywhere . . . Alcohol-induced and all." Aoshi gave her a stern glance. "And I know this isn't the first time that you've helped me. The one day at the bar, I knew you took me back to Kenshin's place. At first I didn't realize that it was you, however it then struck me that I remembered seeing your ice-blue eyes."

"Ice blue?"

"Well, you seem so cold and distant all the time. I think you need to loosen up."

"For you it's quite the opposite," Aoshi countered smirking as he saw Kaoru blush out of embarrassment. "You need to learn how to hold things in; some things are better left unsaid."

At that moment Kaoru's stomach started to growl. Her blush deepened, going from a light pink to a rose red; Aoshi couldn't help but smirk all the more. His feet barely made any sound as he walked on the tiled floor of the kitchen. Kaoru watched him in earnest as he started to dig through his refrigerator. He pulled out a bowl that contained eggs, and Kaoru caught on that he was going to make omelet. She wasn't very fond of them, but on an empty stomach, bad headache, guest at someone else's home - she was definitely going to eat it.

No questions asked. Aoshi had won this time, like he usually did anyways.

However, on this very day, Magdaria lost, she was to be gone forever. Now only a figment in everyone's memories, these were the only things that even had any meaning; that even had any value or the need of treasury.

You wins some . . . You lose some . . .

Chapter 25: END


	26. Chp 26: In Memory Of

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 26: In Memory Of . . .

By: LadyYuina

Just like Magdaria had asked him to do, he found the papers beneath his sister's bed. It surprised him that she had incredibly large stacks of papers. On the front was a paper titled, "In Memory Of . . ." and that was it. Shougo knew immediately that it was his sister's autobiography; she had wanted him to turn it in to Yumi, so she could rework it and get it published.

"Was that your last wish, Sayo?"

--

Misao's eyes were nearly popping out of her head when she heard the tragic news from Shougo. Tears desperately stung at the corner of her eyes, as she tried not to cry . . . She had made a promise to Magdaria not too long ago.

(Flashback)

"Where are we going today?" Magdaria wanted to know. She obediently followed as her energetic friend led her by the hand. The pace they were going wasn't exactly normal consistency, although Magdaria didn't have a hard time keeping up. Wherever they were heading towards, it all seemed to be truly exciting.

"I thought I'd take you somewhere beautiful today," Misao finally replied. Her emerald-colored eyes danced with merriment at the sight of her smiling companion. "We don't normally hang out with Kaoru, so I'll take you to her favorite spot that she and I used to go to when we were still in high school."

"From the look of things," Magdaria craned her neck a little, "I'm thinking it's a waterfall, because I can hear running water nearby."

Yup! Yoshikoto Falls! It brings back memories simply by me saying its name!" Magdaria looked at Misao thoughtfully for a moment but did not say anything. "Today, I plan on making memories with you. I want to make a memory where the both of us can cherish it alone." Magdaria blushed and looked down at her toes. "No need to be embarrassed, Magdaria! It's going to be a lot of fun! Watch!"

Once they reached the bank of the waterfall, the chestnut-color-haired girl stared at it in awe. She and Misao were just close enough that they could feel the water fall's ocean-like mist of water sprinkle across their bare skin. Magdaria smiled a big smile and she then turned towards her friend to bow.

"This place is absolutely magical. Thank you for showing me such wonderful scenery."

Misao laughed and sat down on a large, smooth rock. The cotton bag that she had been carrying this whole time was finally noticed by the jade-green-eyed girl. She looked at it in wonder as Misao dove a hand in to search for something. The first thing that her hand produced was a digital camera; she smiled up at her friend as she placed the camera in front of Magdaria's face.

"Smile!"

The shutter clicked. Magdaria didn't smile as Misao had expected her to, instead her face was beet red. Misao frowned but said nothing; she looked down into the screen of her camera and clicked on the delete button - the ruined picture was instantly gone. The next thing the raven-haired girl did was totally unexpected by Magdaria. She burst into a fit of laughter at the sight of Misao's goofy expression, and it was at this moment that Misao got the perfect image.

It was a picture of Magdaria laughing, oh how her faced glowed with life and beauty.

"Perfect." Misao turned the camera around and said, "take a look."

"Is that really me?" Magdaria was utterly flabbergasted.

"Yup. You look like your natural self! This picture is a lot better than the previous one!" Misao hugged the sickly girl to herself and laughed with joy. "I'm going to show everyone this picture, okay?"

"No, don't."

"Huh? Why not?"

"This memory . . . It is only for me and you, right?" Misao nodded. "This picture will be a part of our memory; it'll be better if only the two of us know about it." Misao started to rebut her decision. "Yes, yes, I appear happy within it, but I don't want anyone else to see it."

"Oh . . ."

"And . . ." her eyes started to glaze over with liquid. ". . . promise me one thing . . . Promise me that when I'm gone you won't cry too many tears. I don't want to be rained upon while in heaven."

"Magdaria . . ."

"Promise me, Misao." Her voice was firm and resolute, though her eyes completely betrayed her by spilling tears somehow.

"I promise." Misao placed her digital camera down to hug her now sobbing friend.

(Flashback: END)

"I did promise you, didn't I? Silly me . . . My eyes can't seem to dry themselves," Misao remorsefully said to herself. She wiped at them gently only to feel more make their way down her flushed cheeks. Her new felt sorrow was now brought upon herself as it quickly dissipated to become searing anger. "I can't stop crying, Magdaria, I simply can't." What was but one little promise so hard to keep? Magdaria had never asked for favors before; this was her one and only, yet Misao couldn't help other than to break it. "Magdaria, I suppose it will rain for days on end. I'm sorry."

Misao stayed home that day - she was feeling too depressed to go anywhere. Several times she tried to call Kaoru, but each time she did the Okitas' simply said that she wasn't home. Annoyed for the last time Misao placed her cordless phone on its stand. She was giving up on calling Kaoru for today. Perhaps she can get in touch with her tomorrow. Getting up from her seated position from the floor, she walked towards her room to retrieve a shoebox that she keeps all her photographs in. Thumbing through them she found the one that she was looking for - Magdaria's laughing face greeted her from the little photo card.

--

Yumi promptly came over the next day to get the documented papers from Magdaria's brother. Yumi was surprised to see that Shougo didn't look all that sad, though she did not question him about it. While she was on her way to his house tears of remorse fell from her eyes, even now one could tell that she had been crying.

"She finally wants it documented and published, huh?" Yumi said.

"Yes."

"Um . . . Did she want anything else specific to be done to her upcoming autobiography?" Shougo shook his head. "Oh, I see. Well then, I'd best get started on this."

"That sounds good. Thank you, Ms. Yumi."

"Just call me Yumi; Ms. Yumi sounds too formal, you know?" Yumi winked at Shougo through her glasses. "Anyway, I'll see you around, Shougo. Oh, one more thing; tell me when Magdaria's funeral is held, okay? Once you confirm the date, that is."

"Sure."

Later that evening when Yumi finally made it home she found Shishio waiting for her at her large apartment. He even went so far as to make her dinner and lit white candles to add taste to the mood. However, Yumi didn't feel like dining and laughing the night away - she felt like reading over Magdaria's confessions of herself written on the pages that she held. Yumi gingerly took of her high-heeled shoes and walked towards the dining table to inspect the food. There were an array of dishes that some Yumi was sure that her boyfriend did not cook.

"Quite a selection you have here," Yumi noted. Shishio gave her his most sexiest smile, which caused his girlfriend to giggle and slightly blush. "Despite the good food and romantic atmosphere, I really have work to do. We might as well eat it now and then I'll get to work."

Shishio somewhat pouted, not wnating to show his total disappointment to Yumi. "You have to work? Can't you wait till tomorrow?"

"I'd rather not wait . . . The work I'm trying to focus on belongs to Magdaria." Shishio gave her a puzzled look. "Remember that meeting I had with her?" Shishio nodded. "Well, at that time she told me that she was willing to let me write an autobiography about her . . . And now that time has finally come, Shishio."

"Did she . . ."

"Yes, she did. So please understand why I'm not in the mood for this."

"Yeah, I understand. Let's just eat." Yumi smiled and lightly kissed her boyfriend on the cheek.

"Haha, what was that for?" Shishio asked.

"For being so sweet."

"Isn't this why you decided to go out with me in the first place?"

"More or less."

The couple sat down and began to eat in the candle-lit dining room. Their eyes would lock many a time to see smiles form on each other's faces. This was what it was like for them to be truly in love. It was sincere and refreshing all over again.

--

Yumi wasted no time to start reading after she finished eating. Her usual dish duty was relieved of thanks to Shishio's thoughtful offer to wash them for her. If they ever broke up for any reason, Yumi knew it'd be hard to finish a guy as sensible as Shishio. Ignoring her personal thoughts she flipped through a page and started to read the first line.

'Hi, my name is Amakusa Sayo, although everyone calls me Magdaria. I am currently nineteen and I have an illness that there us no cure for known to man. where I'd need a transplant if I am to survive. It somewhat worries me that I might die soon, because there are so many things I still want to say . . . Still so many people and places I want to meet and see. I love the gift of life, although I know that God has not bestowed me with such a wondrous gift. Yet, I don't mind; I know I will be born anew and have a fresh start in life once again. Surely, there is always a future for everyone.

By the way, if you're reading this Yumi, I am no longer among all of you. I'll be safely taken to heaven in my cradle so don't worry about me. Once you finish reading everything in here, I'd like you to rewrite it and correct whatever mistakes I must have made. And please call this "A Memory Of . . . Amakusa Sayo". If you managed to complete this then you have my sincerest gratitude.'

Tears stung at the corners of Yumi's eyes as she tried not to cry. She closed her eyes momentarily and tried to clear her mind of any unwanted thoughts that kept resurfacing again and again.

'It all started when I was born in a little town that bordered Kyushu, in March 27, 1972. At birth I was diagnosed with some unknown disease that threatened my very survival. It is a disease that pertains to the heart; at that time in that moment the doctors told my mother and father that I had a fifty-fifty chance of remaining in the world of the living. Despite this drawback I was lucky and lived but not without consequences. As a baby I suffered severe breathing contractions and had an almost fatal semi-heart failure when I was two-years-old.

I didn't know any better as I became older . . . Right when I turned five I had taken the liberty upon myself to chase after boys in my neighborhood, as we played tag - they warned me but I was too naïve to listen. During the course of the strenuous exercise I had collapsed . . . With my pulse accelerating well beyond what my weakened heart could handle; I almost truly died then, right there under the Kyushu sun. However, my brother came to save me just in time. Ever since that day he became extremely protective towards me, and I felt in a way it was rewarding to be protected, and yet, as I grew older it became aggravating . . .

During the expanse of ten years of my life I remained a rowdy girl, always crying, whining, and completely out of control. It was in my own stupor that I acted this way; all I received in return was angry glares from all my classmates. But there was a time when I wasn't always this way. When I was five I was a shy and quiet girl by nature, lest I was playing with the boys was the only time I got a bit loud. But after the incident I didn't hang out with them anymore, and I soon became friends with a girl named Yumi, afterwards. Well, when I was still five, nearing six-years-old, I went to church with my mother, father, and brother - it was a bright Sunday morning. We were all happy and laughing; it's funny how I can remember that scene so clearly . . .

A bomb had struck the church that day, and it was during the preacher's sermon that someone decided to bomb the church. As a result I lost my mother and father . . . Shougo was badly injured because of me, and I'm glad that he didn't die from his wounds. It was on that day forth for the next ten years that I became a girl that was wild, untamable, and bitter. Thinking back on those then years has made me wonder how my brother could put up with me. I was well aware that I was a bad child. I teased people, hit them, spit on them, and even did some name-calling. My condition wasn't going to stop me, although it finally did after ten years.

I was fifteen when I finally lost the ability to be as energetic as I was when I was younger. The reason was because my disease became much worse - I coughed more, felt tired more, and ate a lot less . . . It was also at this age that I received my first heart transplant. My body rejected the heart after a month's time, even when I took medication to slow that process. It was a tough time for Shougo, he thought he had lost me that day. Since my heart stopped beating for twelve seconds. There were two other occasions such as this one and I had one more transplant before my doctor, Mr. Hiko, decided to give me back my diseased one. I didn't mind . . . My second revival was after forty seconds, while my third revival was nine seconds. How absurd and unreal this must sound to anyone reading this right now. You may think I'm lying, but everything I write in here is the truth.

Sometimes I believed that I should have never woken up. If only I could have stayed in suspended animation for the rest of all time. However, that selfish wish of mine would make Shougo sad, if he were to not have anyone left in this world. He would have been all alone. Perhaps that one reason made me survive for as long as I did. My will to live for my brother was strong. For the next couple of years I lived solely for him.

When I was nineteen I met two girls at a local mall when my brother took me there to go shopping. It was really an accident though, due to my coughing, Shougo wanted me to sit down and rest. That was how I met these two special women named Kaoru and Misao. We became friends instantaneously (but I became attached to Misao more than I did towards Kaoru). We've all had some great moments together; there were a lot of people I met and several new places I've seen, but they aren't enough.

If only my life was not as short-lived as it has become to be . . .

Yumi's eyes wandered off the paper, she no longer felt like reading what was in front of her. There were several pages left to read.

"I'll read those later," Yumi said quietly to herself.

Chapter 26: END


	27. Chp 27: Little By Little

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 27: Little By Little

By: LadyYuina

Kenshin stayed up all night the previous evening searching for his two missing children, and yet he hadn't a clue as to where they could have gone. He sat on one of the counches in his living room, as he placed his head in his hands and wept. Kenji watched him from not too far away; he himself was sad and to see his father in such a state made it worse. It has been a really long time since he's seen his father cry.

"Dad?" Kenji said, tentatively, almost timidly at best. The red-headed man turned to face his son. "Are you all right?"

Kenshin wiped at his eyes as he replied, "yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Come here, Kenji." As soon as his son was close enough, Kenshin hugged him to himself. Kenji stiffened for a second, but then relaxed and hugged his father back. "I have no idea where Naoto and Ietsuna are . . . What could have happened between Kaoru and the children to make them run away?" Kenji shrugged in response. "I've searched all night last night . . . And I couldn't find them . . ."

"Is Saitou and the police department going to search for them now?"

"It hasn't been twenty-four hours yet, Kenji."

"Oh." Kenji looked crestfallen, although his father couldn't see the expression. "Well, I hope they're doing all right wherever they are."

It was well over an hour before Saitou and the police crew came to Kenshin's front door stating that they were going to start their investigation. And Saitou also had the courtesy to introduce his partner to them, too.

"This is my new partner Yukishiro Enishi."

Enishi bowed politely as he was acknowledged. From beside his father Kenji looked with interest at Enishi's snowy white hair. Dyed white hair was not a common sight among his peers at school or anyone in particular from around this region. The white-haired man caught the teen staring and smiled at him cheekily.

"You have an interesting hair color," Kenji finally voiced his thoughts.

"Thank you," Enishi replied.

"Ahem." Saitou looked from Kenji to his partner. "As I was saying, my crew and I will begin our investigation. We'll branch out through all the sectors in the city and then move along to the more rural areas if they aren't spotted by then." Saitou turned around and started to walk down the steps. "Come on, Enishi."

"Yes, sir."

"Hope you find those two!" Kenji shouted after them.

Unbeknownst to Kenshin and the police department, Naoto and Ietsuna had already wandered far away from the vicinity of the city limits. They were now out in the rural pastures of the vast countryside, the many well-cared for rice fields could be seen lining the murky landscape. It had been a little over an hour now that the two boys have entered such a new environment. Out here it was quiet and peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle of urban living.

"Naoto, can we take a break? I'm tired," Ietsuna complained. Naoto turned his head to regard his brother with hard-set aqua blue eyes. "Please, Naoto . . ."

"I don't want to stop yet. Let me carry you if you can't go any farther." Naoto offered his back to his little brother. Ietsuna looked at him hesitantly. "It's all right; even with you and the backpack the load won't be too bad."

"I don't want to hurt you, that's all," Ietsuna reasoned. "And where are we, anyway?"

"We're in the kuntie now. You can tell because there's a lot of grass and I see cows and horses, too. That's the easy way to tell. Now, get on my back and let's go."

"But . . ."

"Hurry, Ietsuna. I'm your big brother so listen to me," Naoto commanded, getting really annoyed.

"I really want to go home." Tears started to spill forth from the boy's eyes. "I want to see daddy and Kenji. I want to go home real bad; daddy must be scared and worried that we are not at home."

"We're not going home, not as long as that mean woman is with daddy. She's just like Tomoe. She doesn't like us . . ." Naoto stared down at the dirt bitterly. "Maybe it's because we're not daddy's real children . . . Maybe that's why she doesn't like us."

"I don't care anymore - I'm going back." Ietsuna turned around and started to walk the opposite direction that his brother wanted them to go. He was sick of this little game; something had to be done about Kaoru. Now, within his heart he was willing to give Kaoru another chance - besides she wasn't mean all the time. Ietsuna could tell that she was merely trying to watch out for their well-being. "She's not as mean as you think she is, Naoto."

"Yes she is and you know it!" The sky-blue-haired boy shouted at the top of his lungs. "She's so mean that I don't even want to go back unless she moves far away from Japan! I'll live here in the kuntie myself if you don't want to! I'll deal with this alone! Everyone is the same; Tomoe and Kaoru are no different! I hate them!"

Ietsuna stopped walking and stood still. His shoulders went rigid as he tried to fight back more tears that threatened to fall. Hearing his older brother act this way was so unlike him - Naoto had always been the mature and serious one . . . not like this . . . a whiny child that ran away when he couldn't have his way. This is not the Naoto that Ietsuna knew and loved as a brother. Contemplating on what he should do, Ietsuna decided to go back to his brother; he didn't know the way home and Naoto would need him anyway."

"I hate them," Naoto said again, when Ietsuna approached him. "Daddy probably doesn't love me anymore because I ran away . . ."

"I ran away, too . . . with you. If he's going to hate you, he's going to hate me, too. I'm sorry, Naoto, we'll stick together like real brothers should." Naoto gave him a funny look. "You've changed so don't look at me that way. I want the old Naoto back - my real big brother was never like this. He . . . He promised he'd . . ."

"That he'd always protect you. Yes, I know." Naoto took on a solemn appearance as he watched his brother cry fresh, new tears; he somehow felt guilty that Ietsuna was crying for him. It seemed like lately he had been causing others pain . . . Even Kaoru was hurt by his actions and words.

Why am I being so selfish? What is it that I'm really trying to do?

"You said that a long time ago . . . I believed you."

"I'll never break that promise. Trust me. I will try my best to protect you no matter what."

--

Misao was still wide awake even as the sun was now high in the sky. Sunlight filtered into her bedroom window through the parted red curtains. Her eyes were tired from the lack of sleep, but she hadn't the will to shut them. She eyed the phone in her left hand wearily, and she called the Okita's again - their response was the same as yesterday's. The only other place Misao could think of Kaoru residing at was at Kenshin's house, although she completely forgot where he lived. She berated herself for forgetting; their friend died and Misao had no way of notifying the raven-haired woman she called a friend.

"Ugh, Kaoru, you idiot!" Misao said to herself.

--

Back at the Okitas' the household wasn't fairing well, either. Suzume and Ayame were constantly pining over Kaoru's long absence and Okita was too depressed to do anything. Saitou had gone out on the job searching for missing children, while Tokio was busy tending to her daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Okita were busy in a small room well away from all the madness, as they talked to the Hagokichi family.

"We've heard great things about your son, Soushi, and it seems like he's a very capable man."

Mr. Okita smiled at the mere compliment - his son had indeed did well throughout the years. Yet, at this very moment it seemed like he was falling apart ever since Soujirou departed for home. The children and the whole family had yet to find out about his sudden absence.

"Would it be all right if we see him now or is he busy?" Mrs. Hagokichi asked.

"I'm afraid he's very busy during this time. Let me assure you that he's doing fine, of course," Mr. Okita replied. Turning his attention towards Mr. Hagokichi, he asked, "and how is your little Haruna doing?"

"She's splendid! Very energetic, too! Though I am worried that she had yet to find out about the marriage arrangement; I'm more afraid of her reaction than anything else . . ."

"Are you implying that she might not like my son?" Mr. Okita asked. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hagokichi shook their heads. "Then what is the problem?"

"We are very well aware of the many problems that can arise if our little Haruna refuses. A predetermined marriage is not something she'd like to know about . . . And the age gap is quite large. We're not saying that we're against it, but Haruna is merely a child. Perhaps we can wait until she's a bit older--"

"I understand now . . ." Mr. Okita interrupted the mistress of the Hagokichi family. It was rather rude, though she made no comment. ". . . you don't want your daughter marrying my son . . . It's all understandable."

"Don't speak such nonsense, Mr. Okita. Our daughter will marry your son if you allow it," Mrs. Hagokichi stated.

"I most definitely allow it."

--

From where Okita was residing in he could hear the entire conversation from the other side of the wall. It disgusted him that now that Soujirou has turned his back on him, it was deemed okay for his parents to arrange for him to wed a little girl (god knows how old she was). Everything disgusted him; he'd make sure that he didn't marry the girl named Haruna. The only person he wanted was Soujirou, no one else.

Okita hugged his arms tightly around his trembling frame, his face masked over with fury to hide the sadness behind it. His ponytail came loose when he pulled the hair tie off - he remembered the way Soujirou would tangle his beautiful hands within his long brown tresses. His heart ached just thinking about the other man.

Standing up from his seated position on the floor, Okita made his way out of the dark room. He only took a few steps when Tokio approached him from across a turnabout in the hallway; her eyes appeared to be rather reproachful. He tried to sidestep her, but she reached out a hand for his yukata to halt his movements.

"Wait." He turned his head slowly to acknowledge her. "I think we should talk."

"What do you want to talk to me about?"

"I already know that Soujirou has left . . . I saw him earlier when he went out the front door. Did something happen?" Tokio released her hold on Okita's yukata sleeve when he shrugged her hand off. "It's okay to tell me."

"There is nothing to talk about . . . End of discussion, okay?" He knew he would feel better if he did actually talk about it, however, Tokio was not the person he had in mind to share his troubles with. "Look, Tokyo . . ." Tokio looked at him sadly, ". . . I didn't mean to snap at you like that; I know you're just trying to help me, but I think I'd rather not say anything right now."

"That's fine, Okita."

Okita walked past Tokyo a couple of steps when he said, "I see that you can understand what I am going through. It helps me a great deal that someone at least notices."

Giving him a smile full of hope (despite the fact that his back was turned to her), her reply was, "I tend to try to understand. And if I didn't know any better I'm sure you'll try to get Soujirou back sooner or later, right?"

Okita shrugged. In his current torrent of mixed emotions and angry feelings, the brown-haired man didn't know what to do. Okita was a person that was at war with himself.

--

Yumi's eyes remained glued to the computer screen as she clicking sound of the keyboard droned through her ears, as she worked her magic with her hands. At last she has started in Magdaria's autobiography, after having completed reading it merely minutes ago. She blew out a puff of air to blow her bangs out of her eyes as she tried to focus solely on what she was doing.

Magdaria's tale was tragic to say the least, although there were happy and good times in her life, too. It would also help people who read her autobiography (the people that were suffering from the same thing as her, that is). She had inserted helpful tips and methods to help alleviate the pain somewhat. It saddened Yumi that she couldn't interview the girl herself. Now she knew it was all right that she didn't.

Chapter 27: END


	28. Chp 28: Holding On For You PART 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Because of the long delay . . . I've decided to release two chapters instead of one. I'll probably be doing that from now on. Releasing two chapters at once in longer lengths of time, I guess. Well, enjoy . . .

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 28: Holding On For You (Part 1)

By: LadyYuina

Misao was yanking at her long braid fiercely when she phoned the Okita's again, only to receive the reply that Kaoru was still not home yet. Her deep set emerald-green eyes sparkled with intense anger. It had been a day already and her friend hadn't returned home yet? Trying to calm down Misao sat down, closed her eyes and tried to breathe in and out evenly. Funny how this was a tactic that Kaoru used to calm down - now it was her turn to use it. Her eyes automatically snapped open when her phone rang, she wasted no time in picking it up.

"Hello?" Her voice was desperate and hurried sounding when she spoke.

"Misao? Is that you?"

"Kaoru! Finally! Where are you?" She could hear her raven-haired friend sigh. "Is there something the matter?"

"Yeah, I got into a fight with Kenshin's kids. They completely hate me now . . ."

"Never mind that; there's something I need to--"

Misao was abruptly cut off. "Never mind that! Come on, Misao. I thought you were a friend that I could count on!"

"I am, Kaoru, so just shut up and listen for a moment, will you? I've been trying to contact you yesterday. You're not at home so are you at Kenshin's house?"

"No. Aoshi's."

"Aoshi's!" Misao was astonished - Magadaria's death went unnoticed for a moment. "Why the hell are you at his house? Are you sleeping with him or something?"

"It's not what you to think . . . He saved me last night when I was drunk at the bar. If it wasn't for him I could've ended up anywhere with anyone . . ."

"Oh, I see . . ." Magdaria flashed through Misao's mind, then. "The real reason I wanted to contact you so bad, was so that I wanted to tell you that Magdaria's passed away . . ." Like expected, Misao knew that Kaoru would be shocked. "She left us two days ago, Kaoru. I was really sad. In actuality, I still am . . ."

"Oh, Misao," Kaoru said into the phone. She knew for a fact that Misao and Magdaria were more close to each other than she was with the fragile girl. It was only natural Misao was going to be affected more. "I'm sorry . . . As soon as Aoshi gets home I'll ask him to send me to your place right away, okay?"

"Okay, thanks, Kaoru."

"It's not a problem. I'll see you later."

"Bye." Misao ended the conversation by clicking the off button.

An hour later Kaoru finally arrived at Misao's apartment. The first thing they did when they saw each other was to embrace. Tears started to roll down Misao's cheeks, as she cried onto her friend's shoulder. At last, there was something physical and warms he could grasp onto for comfort.

"Everything's all right. Misao, I know for a fact that she was a good friend. Now please stop crying . . . She probably wouldn't want to see your unhappy face while she's in heaven watching us." It felt strange to Kaoru that she couldn't find the will to cry for her deceased friend; she was sad but not to the point where she couldn't easily let it all go. And it was even stranger that she was suddenly comforting a sobbing friend, when it felt like her world was turned upside down, as well. To anyone, this way sound like cruel logic, but yet this was Kaoru and this was how she felt about it. "I'm not crying, and I'm sure she'd rather have it that way."

"You're right . . . She would rather have it that way . . ."

"When is the funeral going to be held?" Kaoru dared to ask. It was a pretty startling question since the nineteen-year-old girl died not too long ago, and in most cases, funerals were never set up yet.

"Shougo told me it's tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Kaoru questioned. Talk about fast . . .

"Yeah. It was what Shougo wanted. Well," Misao seemed a little strained for words, "I guess she's not getting her autobiography published?"

"Guess not."

Little did they know that Magdaria was indeed getting her autobiography published. After she had a chance of meeting Yumi she had decidedly started writing about herself. It only took a matter of days to complete it - consisting of over twenty-five pages back and front. However, no amount of any words could sum up the entire nineteen years of her life.

--

Soujirou had a dreadful feeling that he was going to run into Okita, if he attended Magdaria's funeral. He was only going because Sanosuke, who was Saitou's friend, asked that he come along. During the train ride Soujirou did anything he could to keep his mind off of his former lover - seeing him again would certainly cause something to happen. The only motive Soujirou could think of altogether was to avoid Okita completely if possible . . . If it was even possible.

The station announcer spoke, which dispelled Soujirou from his oppressive thoughts.

"The train from Yamato station has arrived at Yamamura station. Please leave the train if this is your designated station. The next trip will be from Yamamura station to Mi station; the train will depart in fifteen minutes. Please be ready and seated by then. Thank you."

Saitou had told Soujirou that he was going to be late on picking him up, since he had an assignment to do that dealt with two runaway kids. Who the kids were, Soujirou was not told so he didn't know. Somewhat bored the brunette-haired man sat on one of the station benches and reflected on everything that's happened in his life thus far.

(Flashback)

"Soujirou, please don't do this to me . . ."

"Oh, stop it, Ooki-chan," Soujirou almost said it in a jokingly tone. "You know when it's no use."

"You still love me, don't you?"

"I . . . well, of course I do. Do you doubt my feelings?"

FFFFF

"Seta?" Bright blue eyes sparkled with happiness. "It really is you, Seta! Welcome back home!"

"Nana, hi," Soujirou greeted, dumbly. He extended out a hand to her when she reached for his. "It's great to be back."

FFFFF

"Seta, why did you decide to come back?" Nana asked again.

"Oh . . . I thought I'd come visit all of you. It's been so long since I've been here, Nana. Has anything changed much?"

"Hmmm," Nana scrunched up her face as she thought back on previous events. "Other than Aunt Shizu staying at the hospital, nothing else has changed."

"Wait. What? Aunt Shizu is in the hospital?" Soujirou stopped walking altogether, and Nana stopped a little farther ahead of him. "Why is she in the hospital?"

FFFFF

"Seta, you're home!" she exclaimed, somewhat overjoyed. Soujirou remained stiffly still when she ran up to him to hug him. Her dark-blue kimono clad arms encircled his thin frame. "Welcome back, darling."

(Flashback: END)

"Are you Soujirou?" a tall white-haired man asked. The brown-haired youth looked up, a little startled. "Are you Soujirou?" the man repeated again.

"Yes, that's me." Soujirou looked at the other man with uncertain clarity - he was dressed in a policemen's uniform. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Saitou told me to come get you, since he's talking on the phone with someone at the phone booth right now."

"Oh . . ."

"My name's Enishi. Sorry if I took you by surprise."

Soujirou smiled, while saying, "it's quite all right. Nothing like a little scare to jumpstart your nerves, eh?" Enishi gave him a funny look. "Haha, bad joke; never mind me. So, shall we get going?"

"Sure. Saitou is right over there waiting for us." Enishi pointed towards Saitou, who was now waiting for them by the phone booth.

--

During the funeral there were the people that attended: Saitou, Shougo, Sanosuke, Soujirou, Okita, Misao, Kaoru, Kenshin, Aoshi, Hiko, Megumi, Tae, Tsubame . . . and several of Magdaria's college classmates, which consisted of seven other people. During the entire sermon for the rest and tranquil life of Magdaria would have up in heaven, both Sanosuke and Shougo remained stony faced, while Misao and Magdaria's classmates cried their eyes. The others looked remorseful, but other than that nothing else really happened.

The preacher closed with, "may she rest in peace."

At this point it was hard to say who was affected most by this sad event. Several dozen pairs of eyes were glossy from withholding tears back; seeing people cry had a domino effect on everyone. Much like the knocking over of a row of them, tears were susceptible of making others cry as well. Each person took a turn to speak their final words to the special girl. Shougo was the first to speak.

"Hey, Magdaria, it's me, your big brother. I hope you're having fun up there with God wherever you may be. I'm pretty sure that you're now a part of the sky. Just remember that I'll always love you even in death."

Sanosuke's turn was next.

"Magdarian, I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you breathed your last breath. Instead, I was at home sleeping the hours off . . . I've missed spending precious time with you that day. May you forgive me?"

Misao stood up to have a go at it, as Sanosuke backed down, head bowed so his bangs hid his eyes from view.

"Misao, here! We've had a lot of fun together, didn't we? Remember that special memory we both share? I'll remember to always cherish it for the both of us. And yeah, you never got to taste all the good food Japan has to offer, though I'm sure heaven has plenty of tasty dishes and desserts. I'd only wished that we'd had more time to spend with one another, you know? I'm glad that I've met you, Magdaria, because you made life much more entertaining and your strife for living was quite admirable. You were a strong-willed woman without a doubt, and you'll always, always, always be my friend."

The ceremony took over five hours due to the lengthy goodbyes some of the people said to the deceased girl. The air was thick with mixed emotions and the smell of salty tears. The last thing everyone did together before splitting apart was to take a group photo together right by Magdaria's grave.

Kenshin made sure to corner Kaoru when he had the chance; she didn't try to avoid him either when he followed closely behind her as she mingled with the crowd. It was her sudden turnabout round of face to stare him in the eyes that surprised him. Her eyes held no mirth in them, nor did they appear eerily cold. Instead, they came to show indifference.

"Kaoru, we need to talk . . ." Kenshin started, unsure of how to approach the matter. He watched Kaoru as her gaze reverted towards the grass below her feet. "You know what I'm talking about, right?"

"Yes, Ietsuna and Naoto. I was being a total bitch towards them. So, how are they fairing at the moment without me around?"

"That's the whole point - it was because of you that they've run away." Kenshin's voice was laced with accusatory tones, however much he tried to hide it. Kaoru didn't believe for a second that he wasn't blaming her, and her breathing became hitched in her throat as she waited for him to continue. "I can tell that you're thinking you're taking all the blame, but trust me, my children will have their fair share of it once they are found."

"I'm so sorry, Kenshin." Kaoru managed to choke out. Her eyes started to water, though no tears came out. "I . . . I didn't think they'd go that far as to run away . . . I mean I heard them saying they were leaving. But I thought it was an empty threat to scare me."

Kenshin let out a little laugh; it was bittersweet and dry sounding. He looked at Kaoru for a moment longer, before looking up at the treetops above their heads. Tears, too, threatened to fall from his eyes. Not knowing where his two sons were was one of the most troubling things - he hadn't felt this helpless in a really long time. It only took a blink of his eyes - that was all he need to allow his tears to fall freely.

Kaoru was horrified at the sight she was seeing. "Kenshin, it's all my fault. I made them run away! It'd be better if I disappeared from your life!"

--

Much to Soujirou's dismay he did come across Okita; it was quite unexpected, really, since he tried his best to avoid the other man. Somehow, someway, Okita always managed to find him. Soujirou was sitting on the lawn in a secluded spot, and he hadn't know Magdaria at all, yet he wanted time to reflect on what everyone said about her. She sounded like a wonderful person. It was here that Okita him, too.

"Hey," Okita had called out tentatively. He could see Soujirou freezing at the sound of his voice. "I knew you'd come . . ."

"And?" Soujirou replied, his voice rather cold in comparison.

"I wanted to see you again. My life--"

"Zip it. I don't even want to hear it." Soujirou let his head droop down low, so he wouldn't have to meet Okita's gaze. Right at this moment he could tell that Okita was hurt by his words. "In all honesty, Okita, don't mention 'us' anymore, because there is no longer any. Go marry a woman and be happy, have kids, grow old and die content."

"Don't talk like you know what's best for me!" Okita cried. "Only I'll know the answer to that!"

"If you marry another man, you'll regret the day you ever did so. Believe me . . . Not only that, you'll put your family to shame, dampening the Okita title that is so prestigious to your kind . . . My kind."

"Kind of people, eh? Well, I don't give a damn about any of it. And you know what my father did? He's arranged for me to wed this girl I don't even know, and worse yet, she's really young from what I've heard. I don't want to marry a child. I only want to marry you."

"Just leave me alone, Okita, I'm sick of the sight of you. No matter what I do or say you never seem to let go. I suggest--"

"That's because . . ." Okita said with bedridden misery, ". . . I'm holding on for you. I don't care how long it'll take, just so as long as you come back to me."

"Sentimentality isn't your speciality, Okita. Now if you'll excuse me I need to get back home before it gets too dark."

"Won't ever let you go, Sou-chan."

"You're making it worse for me . . ."

Chapter 28: END


	29. Chp 29: Holding On For You PART 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 29: Holding On For You (Part 2)

By: LadyYuina

Night had befallen the sky far sooner than Naoto had expected, since the days were growing shorter, and the nights much longer. Summer was nearing its end; he and Ietsuna had been runaways for a week now. Their provisions were more than depleted and they were now shivering, hungry, and huddling close to one another under a large birch tree. The midnight sounds of the crickets and the small light from the fireflies did not quell the fear that resided within each of the pits of their stomachs.

"Naoto, I'm hungry and cold." Ietsuna told his brother. He could feel his brother shivering from the cold too, but Naoto ended up not replying to him. "Are you hungry, too? I know you're already cold . . ."

"Of course I am . . ."

"Wanna go home?"

". . . Yeah."

Ietsuna snuggled closer to the warmth of his brother's body, and Naoto's shivering frame did not make matters better. In fact, it only made it worse since it showed that his older brother was scared, too. Then who could Ietsuna rely on for comfort? Both of the boys remained huddled under that birch tree until an unexpected guest showed up. Ietsuna was the first to see it, so he called out fearfully to his brother.

"Naoto, what is that thing! It's coming towards us!"

The little creature that approached them didn't like them one bit. They were blocking the entrance to its nightly den. Bristling its spiky needle-like hairs, it threatened them with the swish of its tail that created a rattling sound.

"It's going to eat us!" Ietsuna cried out in panic. His blue eyes widened considerably at what happened next. "Naoto!"

--

After the little encounter with Kenshin, Kaoru had gone over to Misao's place, and while she was there she remained a hopeless sobbing wreck of a girl. Misao was exasperated - everything she tried to do she couldn't cheer her guilt-ridden friend.

"It's not all your fault," Misao began, again for the one-hundredth time, "don't blame everything on yourself. I'm pretty sure those kids had something to do with it, too." Misao tapped the top of her head lightly, trying to think of what to say next. "So, what did they say to you anyway?"

"They said they hated me . . . And that I was worse than Aoshi. Can you imagine that?" Kaoru looked at her friend helplessly. "They said they'd rather live with him than me . . . They'd rather live with that cold-hearted bastard! What do they even see in him! What--"

"Kaoru, calm down! You're jumping to assumptions again! Do you truly believe that Aoshi is as heartless and cold like you said?"

"We're not talking about him! We're talking about me! My problem, Misao, and it has nothing to do with him!"

"There you go again . . . Always so self-centered. Maybe that's what the kids hate about you . . ." Kaoru gave her friend a horrified glare; Misao did little more than shake her head in disappointment. "Kaoru, I still believe that you're not the only one to blame, but haven't you noticed what you've been doing all along?"

"N-no . . ."

"From what I've heard from you these past few weeks, it seems like you're doing everything for yourself. Like getting Kenshin's kids to like you - that's more of a personal gain than anything else, you know. And sometimes, even I feel angry that you act this way, yet I've never mentioned it to you. However, I'm going to tell you everything now; at least my view on things.

"First off, getting Kenshin's kids to like you was your top priority. I know it isn't a bad thing, though I do believe that you're trying too hard. In that way you appear rather brash and diminutive. The reason I think why Naoto and Ietsuna still don't like is because to them you appear to be like a wicked witch of the east. And besides, your tendency to get very emotional can be a little unnerving to them."

Kaoru took a moment to absorb everything that her friend was telling her. It all made sense. Perhaps she was trying too hard, and yet in the end what did she hope to gain? What was it that she wanted to gain?

"I guess I am self-centered." Kaoru could feel tears starting to form at the corner of her eyes. "You know, I feel pathetic - I've been crying lately and that seems like the only thing I do. I mean, Kenshin's kids are missing and I'm not doing anything about it. I'm just a big idiot that can't do anything for myself or for anyone else."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Kaoru!" Misao clucked her tongue at her. "I was trying to get you to veer off of yourself, not suddenly becoming pessimistic over yourself!"

"Forget it, Misao, I'm a complete failure in life. I make a bad girlfriend; I have intense emotional issues; I'm not all that good with kids; I hate losing so much . . ."

Kaoru literally went on and on (contradicting herself, no less). Misao merely chose to tune her out, even though it looked like she was listening intently. It irked her nonetheless that Kaoru could be so stubborn most of the time; it was always the case of either giving up entirely or bulldozing through something with no end in sight.

"So, are you going to break up with Kenshin?" Misao asked. That instantaneously caught the raven-haired girl's attention. Her mouth shut immediately as she stared at Misao. "Don't--"

"No, I didn't." Funny how Kaoru knew what Misao was going to ask . . .

"Oh."

A long silence passed between the two women. It was Kaoru who started up the conversation again.

"Well, I can't be too sure that Kenshin doesn't want to break up with me, since I was the reason his kids ran away. They did tell me to leave though, when they said all those things to me . . . It really hurt. I never thought something a child could say would have such an impact on me - in fact, it never has before until now."

"It's all right, Kaoru, I just hope everything gets settled and goes back to normal."

"Yeah, me too."

--

Saitou and Sanosuke looked at Kenshin as he sat across from them on a small couch. They had never seen their friend so scared in his life. However, Kenshin wasn't the only one feeling pain; Sanosuke was, too. Losing Magdaria had a great impact on him also. Saitou was the only one who appeared to be substantially loss-free, although he was quite angry that he couldn't find Naoto and Ietsuna. Worse yet, he could also feel a strange aura coming off of his brother, Soushi, and his brother's life seemed to be spiraling out of control . . . Talk about being surrounded by bad omens . . .

"You are all a load of garbage," Saitou remarked, obviously disgusted with what he was feeling and seeing. "I think I'm gonna go to the police headquarters to see if anything comes up." Kenshin nodded, though he didn't look at the man. "If either of you see Soushi, tell him that he needs to let Soujirou go." And without waiting for a response, Saitou stiffly stalked out of the house.

Tokio, who had heard everything tried to cheer up the two men in the living room, when her husband went out the front door and into his car. She tried her best to smile as Sanosuke and Kenshin looked at her when she approached them.

"How are you two doing?" she asked.

"I feel awful," Sanosuke and Kenshin chorused at the same time.

"Oh, I see . . . I guess this entire house is filled with unease. Even Megumi is feeling distressed." Tokio fumbled with her fingers clumsily, as she idly stood there. Well, she knew she needed to offer her help . . . "Well, if you two need anything I'll be in the kitchen."

Tokio miserably failed in the attempt of cheering the men up . . .

With Tokio gone, Kenshind decided that he finally wanted tot talk (to a good friend, no less.) "Hey, Sanosuke," the spiky-haired man lightly grunted in acknowledgement, "do you think Naoto and Ietsuna are okay wherever they are?"

Sighing, Sanosuke automatically replied, "I hope so. What the hell did your girlfriend do to them?"

"They argued about one thing or another, but to what degree I wouldn't know. I guess it must be bad if they ran away. And Kaoru is avoiding me now . . . It's making me wonder if she wants to break up with me."

"Women are unpredictable," Sanosuke muttered.

"It's been a week since their disappearance. You can never know how hard this is on me."

"It's all right; I'm here for you, Kenshin. If you can't hold on, I'll hold onto hope for you. I'm pretty sure Magdaria would have done the same thing if she were here right now."

"Thanks, Sanosuke."

--

Ietsuna watched on with frightened eyes as the long spikes of the porcupine protruded from his brother's ribcage. There was so many and so much blood that Ietsuna didn't know what to do when his brother fell. Every time he tried to touch one of the spike, Naoto would scream out in pain. Ietsuna knew for a fact that Naoto could bleed to death, if he was left this way so he needed to find help. Fast.

"Naoto, I'll be right back! I'm going to find somebody to help us!"

Ietsuna ran off despite his brother's weak protest for him to stay by his side. Naoto began to cry both from the pain and at the aspect of being left alone. He was deathly afraid of the porcupine, who was now sitting inside its den staring back at him angrily. He hadn't the strength to move though, because if he could he would have gotten as far away from the angry creature as possible.

All the while that Ietsuna ran, so many things were running through his head; he couldn't think straight, literally. Stumbling along the tall grassy plains, Ietsuna managed to find a road. Running out towards it, he was met face first with blaring bright car lights. Screeching sounds could be heard along with the smell of burnt rubber and honking.

"Ietsuna!" A car door opened and then slammed (probably being closed . . .). Ietsuna had fallen over from the shock of it all, and his eyes were closed as he shook with fear. "Ietsuna, what in god's name are you doing out here!"

"A . . . Aoshi?" Ietsuna peeked an eye open at the sound of the man's voice. When he saw that it was indeed Aoshi, Ietsuna sat upright as quickly as he could. He latched onto the older man's arms with such fierce intensity that even Aoshi was surprised by the boy's sudden surge of strength. "Naoto! We must help him! He's bleeding a lot, and I don't know what to do!"

"What's happened to Naoto?"

"Hurry! Come with me!"

As they were running to the designated spot, Aoshi continued to talk to the kid. "Your father will be relieved that you two have been found, even if it was by accident . . . It was dangerous of you to run out into the open road. I almost ran over you."

By the time they reached Naoto he already passed out from the severe blood loss. Aoshi frowned at the sight; the moonlight was their only source of light, but he could see that Naoto was badly wounded. A large array of porcupine needles were stuck on the side of his right ribcage.

"That thing," Ietsuna pointed towards it, " tried to attack me, but Naoto got in the way."

That was all Aoshi needed to hear at the moment, for he wasted no time in scooping Naoto up (carefully) into his arms, rush back to the car, and drive to the nearest hospital.

"Will Naoto be all right?" Ietsuna asked, eyes quickly darting from the wounded Naoto in the backseat to Aoshi (whom was driving the car).

"He'll be fine," Aoshi said. Ietsuna believed him right away, yet Aoshi had a hard time believing in his own words. There was no telling if Naoto was going to make it or not. "Tell me, Ietsuna, how long has your brother been bleeding?"

"It took me a really long time to find the road, so I think it's been a long time."

Damn! Naoto, hang in there! Don't give up!

--

"Rush this boy to the emergency room right away! He's lost a large amount of blood!" a doctor surmised.

"Dr. Hiko, his temperature has dropped ten degrees below normal range."

"Quickly! Get his blood type figured out! Bring me his medical files!"

Ietsuna and Aoshi watched as Naoto was towed away by doctors and nurses. All the while Ietsuna kept a tight hold on the shirtsleeve of Aoshi's. People that passed by would stare at them, children and adults alike. Ietsuna was dirty and bruised looking, while Aoshi was somewhat bloody and disheveled in appearance.

"Ietsuna, wait here; I'll go contact your father."

"Is he mad?"

"I'll see," Aoshi replied.

"If he is . . . Tell him Naoto and I are really sorry . . ."

"Sure thing."

Chapter 29: END


	30. Chp 30: Forgive and Forget PART 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 30: Forgive and Forget (Part 1)

By: LadyYuina

Kenji was sitting on the living room couch watching a movie on t.v., when the telephone rang. He stared at it for a moment before he decided to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Kenji?"

"Yeah, it's me. Something up?"

"Is your father home?"

Kenji shook his head, but then realized that Aoshi couldn't see him, only hear. "No, he's at Saitou's house."

"Okay, then. Thank--"

The phone went dead as Kenji listened on. Somewhat ticked off he put the phone back on its stand and un-paused the movie he was watching. The action was just coming up, too.

--

Aoshi mentally cursed because his cell phone battery died on him, right when he needed to make a very urgent call . . .

"Come on, Ietsuna, we're going to Saitou's house," Aoshi told the boy. Eyes growing wide, the child did little more than nod and follow Aoshi. "Everything will be all right."

"I hope my daddy won't be too mad . . ."

The drive to the Okitas' was much shorter than expected, since Aoshi was driving faster than he normally did, which really wasn't that much slower at all. Only slightly. Ietsuna nearly peed in his pants at the speed that they were going, and it added to the reason that he was never driven inside a car at such high speed before either. Aoshi parked his car on the curb when they arrived at Saitou's place, and right when he stepped out of his car and closed the door behind him, he noticed that Ietsuna was not budging from his seat. The blue-eyed man looked at him expectantly through the car window, wanting the child to come on out.

"Can I wait in here?" Ietsuna asked.

"I think your father would want to see you though. Come on, let's go inside."

"I . . ."

"Ietsuna," the boy looked up at Aoshi, surprised by his tone of voice, "there's no need to run away any longer. You are back safe and sound."

"Naoto is hurt and it's all my fault. I couldn't do anything to help him at that time. Daddy will be so mad at me when he sees me . . ."

Reluctantly, Ietsuna followed Aoshi to the front door, when he realized that Aoshi wasn't going to let him sit in his car and not come inside the house. He nervously stood beside the man as Aoshi rung the doorbell; a fat maid opened it.

"Good evening, Mr. Shinomori," she greeted.

"Good evening," he replied, before stepping in. Ietsuna walked in behind him.

"Ietsuna!" The child didn't have time to react when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him. "Ietsuna! You're back!"

"Daddy . . ." The child hugged his father back, savoring the warmth of the embrace. "Daddy, I'm really sorry . . ." Tears began to fall - having come back to the relative safety of family from the wilderness was heart wrenching to the boy. "Naoto and I weren't thinking when we ran away. And now that we're back, Naoto is hurt."

Kenshin's eyes went wide for a moment, and he was about ready to yell his head off, though he decided against it when Aoshi shook his head. Yelling at Ietsuna now would only make the situation worse; taking things step by step was going to have to be done. He only hugged his son all the more tighter to himself as he sighed in relief.

"Daddy, you're hurting me," Ietsuna gasped, suddenly wanting to squirm away.

Kenshin immediately released his son; the boy almost could barely choke back at the sight of his father - he looked so old and tired - more so than before. Ietsuna reached out a hand to cup his father's cheek and he smiled. He knew that if he were to look horrified or even disgusted at this point in time, his father would be more distressed than he already was. So many things were going through Ietsuna's mind, but he simply didn't have the will to voice them.

"Where did you find them?" Kenshin asked Aoshi.

"Out on the countryside. I suppose I came at the right time, although I nearly ran over your son." Kenshin's left eyebrow started to twitch, but he said nothing of caution, so Aoshi continued. "Ietsuna was shouting at the top of his lungs that his brother was injured. As it turned out, Naoto was attacked by a porcupine since they were blocking the entrance to its den due to the heavy downpour of rain."

"I see."

"Are you mad, daddy?" Kenshin shook his head. "You aren't?"

"How about we go home?" Kenshin suggested. He was put on edge, really, since Naoto wasn't around and hearing about him being attacked by a porcupine didn't put his mind at any sort of ease at all.

"Okay."

Standing up to his full height Kenshin bowed before Aoshi. "Thank you for finding my sons at the time that you did. You saved Naoto's life."

"It was nothing."

Aoshi's real intention of going to the countryside was to head to the local temple, but he never did reach his destination. However, there was always another chance to visit.

--

"Welcome home, da--" Ietsuna had hurtled himself at the brunette-haired kid, clearly knocking the wind out of him. A little breathless, Kenji said, "Ietsuna, hey, kiddo. Where's Naoto?"

"He's at the hospital." Ocean-blue eyes met with vibrant violets; it wasn't hard for Kenji to see how worried his father was about Naoto. "I'm going to see him. Watch over the house and Ietsuna while I'm gone, Kenji."

"All right. Tell him I said I'm glad that he's back when you see him."

Kenshin nodded, before walking out the front door and closing the door behind him.

"How was it out there on your own?" Kenji asked, teeming with curiosity.

"Horrible."

"Heh. Why'd the two of you run away anyway?"

"Because of Kaoru - she was so mean to us. She told us that our real mommy and daddy threw us away because we were rotten. I hope she never comes to this house again, because she's not welcomed."

"Don't say that," Kenji chided. "Kaoru . . ." he stopped and thought about it for a moment. ". . . Kaoru isn't as bas as you make her to be. She's a human being like us, and she makes mistakes, too. She cries, laughs, and even has bad days. Doesn't it seem a little unfair the way you and Naoto are treating her?"

Out of the whole three minutes that they had been talking, Ietsuna did not release his hold on his older brother. It felt nice to remain this way - as long as Kenji didn't object, he wasn't going to let go.

"Maybe . . ."

"Maybe?" Kenji repeated, in a questioning tone. "I think you two went overboard with the whole unfairness deal. Don't you want to see dad happy?" Ietsuna quickly nodded. "Well . . . Kaoru makes him happy; if you can accept that fact . . . In time I really think you can come to like her."

"Naoto won't forget what happened back then . . . He keeps--"

"Thinking that Kaoru is like Tomoe?"

". . . yeah."

"Why can't he forget, Ietsuna? Why won't he let go?"

"Because . . ."

"Because?"

Ietsuna started to cry then - Naoto had made him promise to not tell anyone, so he was going to remain quiet about it. Although Kenji almost made him say it.

"I can't say it." Kenji frowned at the response, but had no intention to pry.

"Well, let's get you cleaned up; you have mud all over you." Ietsuna nodded. "By the way, where are all your clothes?"

"Out in the cuntyside . . ."

"Countryside, eh? I suppose you can wear some of my clothes, although they might be a little big for you."

Kenji waited outside by the bathroom door, due to the insistence of his little brother. The sound of the water running filled Kenji's ears, as he listened. The bathroom door was wide open so light and steam filtered out from inside. It didn't really matter that the door was wide open because Kenji was not going to be a peeking tom.

"Hey, Kenji, can I ask you something?" Ietsuna called from the tub.

"Yeah."

"While Naoto and I were gone . . . Did Kaoru and daddy leave each other?"

"I can't really say - she hasn't come over since the two of you left. It's something that we should let the adults settle on their own, you know?"

"You're right."

"Promise me one thing, Ietsuna, that you will never run away again. You don't know how ballistic dad went when the two of you disappeared that day - he was searching around the streets all night."

"What does ballistic mean?"

"Well, it kind of means when you go insane . . . Not really insane, but just enough to make others worry about you."

"Oh. I didn't mean to make daddy go ballistic . . . I promise not to run away again, even if Naoto wants me to."

"Good to hear." Kenji smiled, knowing that his brother was telling the truth.

--

"Kaoru, Toki, just phoned me and told me that Ietsuna and Naoto have been found. They were out in the countryside; I'm surprised they had wandered that far."

"Because of me, that's why."

Kaoru sighed as she ran a hand through her dark bangs. She was relieved that they were rescued, but she hadn't the guts to face Kenshin or his kids. The problem wasn't going away, and yet she wanted to run away from it all. Hadn't she declared that she loved Kenshin? What was the use of avoiding him when she wanted to be with him?

"Kaoru, don't--"

"I'm going back there."

"What?"

"I'm going back to Kenshin's place. I still love him. It might bring me pain and unhappiness for now, however I believe this can be smoothed out. It just has to somehow."

"Wow, Kaoru," Misao smiled and patted her friend's back, "you actually sounded like a head-strong woman there, ready to take on any challenge. That's the Kaoru I'm used to."

--

"May I see him?" Kenshin asked.

"Go right inside; the operation has been done and your son is sedated at the moment. He'll wake up soon though," the nurse he was talking to told him.

Kenshin thanked her and stepped into the hospital room. Naoto was lying on a small bed in the center of the little room. Kenshin walked to one side of it as he took his son's hand in his own, the warmth of it in itself helped Kenshin breathe a little easier. For reasons unknown he was afraid he'd feel cold, dead hands instead of what he was feeling now. It angered him that he was thinking such morbid thoughts, but he couldn't help it.

Aside from the minor bruises and cuts on the child's face, Naoto seemed to be fine as he slept. Kenshin looked at the beeping machine on the other end of the room opposite him - he watched as the wiggly green lines formed themselves after each beep. At this instance he could almost feel what Shougo had gone through when the line went dead as the beeping sound became monotone. The shallow breathing of the person beside you ceasing, their last breath having been spent.

"Da . . . Daddy?"

"Naoto." Kenshin looked down at his son's face. The drug was only beginning to wear off, so he had a sleepy-like look on his face. "You've finally come to . . . I'm glad that you're all right."

"I'm really sorry, Ietsuna and I didn't mean to make you worry. I hate Kaoru so much that I wanted to get away from her . . ." He paid close attention to his father's expression, and almost expected to see anger there, yet he saw something else. His father smiled? "Aren't you mad?"

"I suppose I should be, but I'm not. I'm more glad than angry that you and Ietsuna have made it home. What you did out there was really brave; you saved your brother's life, and I commemorate you for putting your life on the line. A dangerous thing to do, but some things can't be helped, after all."

Naoto was touched and he looked like he was trying to smile, although he struggled to do so. He shifted his weight a little only to feel pain from his ribs course throughout his body. Kenshin's hold on his hand became tighter.

"I'm not trying to say that Kaoru is all that bad; it's because she reminds of too much of her . . ."

"You mean Tomoe?" Kenshin asked.

"Yeah . . . Her."

"Kaoru makes mistakes just like you and I do, Naoto. Perhaps you're expecting too much from her, making her feel cornered--"

"She always thinks she knows what's best for me and Ietsuna! She called us spoiled brats! She . . . She . . .!"

"Shhh, Naoto, calm down. We'll get this settled once you're feeling better, all right?"

"I want to see Aoshi," Naoto whispered, suddenly thinking about the dark-haired man.

"I'll ask him to come tomorrow. For now, rest."

Chapter 30: END


	31. Chp 31: Forgive and Forget PART 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Four more chapters and this story will be over.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 31: Forgive and Forget (Part 2)

By: LadyYuina

Megumi rummaged through the many dried herbs that she kept in a small cabinet that was situated in a small shack in the yard if the Okitas'. She didn't hear footsteps approaching as she sorted through the many glass bottles.

"Oh, Megumi, I didn't know you were back here," Tokio said.

"Did you need something, Tokio?" Megumi didn't even bother turning around, as she continued to sort out the containers. "If one of the children are injured, I can tend to them in a bit if it's not too serious."

"Suzume and Ayame are fine. I'm worried about Okita."

Megumi actually stopped what she was doing, just so she could look at Tokio directly. Tokio's head was buried within her hands as she cried. Megumi frowned at the sight. It seemed like the entire Okita household was up in tears, and everything seemed too unsettled after Soujirou's departure. Megumi didn't even get the chance to say goodbye, which was really too bad. It wasn't for her to automatically know that Soujirou had gone home though.

"What would you like for me to do for Okita?" Megumi asked.

"He's gotten worse, Megumi . . ." Tokio moved her hands away from her face and instead, let them cling onto her kimono. ". . . he's become so frail looking and hollow-eyed. His lack of sleep and consumption of food is going to kill him . . ."

"Depression. I have anti-depressants that he can take, but I will not force him to eat them if he wishes not to," Megumi replied, very straightforward with her answer. "It might be a better idea if we take him to an actual hospital instead."

If only Soujirou would come back . . .

"He would never agree to it and he's a grown man. There would be no way that his parents can withhold him there."

"True . . ." Megumi turned back towards the shelf and picked up a certain bottle. "The best I can do is to tell you to make him take these." She handed Tokio the bottle. "These are dried herbs well known for sleep inducement. Make sure you add it to whatever he my eat, even a couple of bites will do."

"Thank you, Megumi."

"I am the family doctor. It's my job to help."

--

Knowing what should be done, Saitou drove up the steep hilly grasslands of the secluded country. He aimed on locating his target and having a long, serious talk with him. Tokio wasn't the only one to notice Okita's sudden change in his living patterns, so instead of going home from the police station, he decided to head to Soujirou's residence. He was also happy that the two kids were already found, so the case was officially off his back. And Kenshin, whom had been sulking nonstop, could now resume his normal life.

Good for him . . .

"As for Soushi, what should I do about you, eh?" Saitou asked himself.

Soujirou was outside in the front yard playing with Nana when Saitou pulled in just outside of the driveway. Nana, who was holding onto a kite, stopped what she was doing as she looked at the police officer making his way towards them. Somewhat agitated she made like a tree for the supportive figure of her older brother.

"What does he want, Seta?" she whispered.

"It's all right, Nana, he's here to see me," he whispered back.

"But, why? Did you do something bad?"

"Pretty early in the morning to be playing outside," Saitou suddenly said, interrupting the two sibling's mumblings to one another. He has pulled an all-nighter and he wasn't going to leave until he talked to Soujirou about the issue between him and his dimwitted younger brother.

"Nana, go on inside. I'm going to have a talk with him alone," Soujirou told her.

"I want to hear what he has to say, though!" she retorted, angrily glaring at the policeman.

"I'm not going to get arrested. Just go inside, and tell mom about this if you want; she'll know who this man is." Soujirou pointed to the front door of the house. "So go on."

"Fine!" Nana ran off into the main house without looking back behind her.

"Cute kid; she your sister?" Saitou asked, when she was out of hearing range.

"Yeah." Soujirou looked at Saitou's face carefully. "You look really tired," Soujirou leaned in even closer to get a better look, "maybe we should talk some other time. You need sleep."

"No, I'm fine. We must talk about you and my brother." Soujirou's expression suddenly became sour-looking at the mere mention of Okita. "He's so depressed that he's killing himself over you. Simply over you."

"Stop lying."

Soujirou turned around to leave, but Saitou caught him by an arm and refused to let go. His grip only tightened when Soujirou tried to roughly push him away.

"Don't make me handcuff you," Saitou warned. Soujirou stilled - outwardly, he appeared to be relaxing, but within himself he was far from it. "I'm not lying; he really us killing himself whether he realizes it or not. He hasn't been eating or sleeping regularly, and he hasn't been doing anything other than to stay holed up inside his room all day and night. Not everyone within the house has noticed his condition yet, but I believe Tokio was the first."

"Why don't his parents do something about it?" Soujirou asked, wondering why such loving parents like Okita's weren't taking action.

"How can they?"

"If they can arrange for him to get married, I'm sure they won't--"

"Wait, he's getting married?" Soujirou nodded. "To who? Tell me!"

"He told me it was a young girl, but I don't know her name or anything."

"Did my father do this without telling him first?"

"I'd think so . . ."

"This is only going to make things much more complicated than they already are. I've told you all I know and Okita's life is in your hands."

"What do you mean in my hands?"

"Whether he dies or lives at the rate he is deteriorating. I think you're the only medicine he'll ever need."

Only . . . Medicine?

Saitou didn't wait for a response, for he was heading towards his car. He only hoped that he had drilled some sense into the boy's head to do the right thing and come back for Soushi's sake.

--

"Daddy isn't home yet," Ietsuna whined, picking at the table cloth with his fingers. Kenji merely shrugged, obviously occupied with the cooking he was doing. "I wanted to eat breakfast with him."

"Ietsuna, stop whining. It shouldn't be a problem that he's spending time with Naoto. Besides, you can spend time with me; after we eat breakfast I'll do whatever you wanna do, okay?"

"You promise?"

"Yeah."

"You're never this willing to do things with Naoto and me, not even once . . ."

"I'm willing now, so hush before I change my mind."

" . . . Don't change your mind! I wanna hang out with you! Honest!"

Kenji laughed.

--

Aoshi was in his office filling out papers, when his telephone rang. With one hand he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Aoshi, it's me, Kenshin. I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"Naoto said he'd like to see you, but if you're too tired after work, I guess he can wait a while longer," Kenshin said.

Aoshi stopped writing as he tapped the pen on the papers in puzzlement. He hadn't the slightest clue as to why the child would want to see him, other than to thank him. Thinking about the options he had he knew they were pretty slim. Go straight after work when he will be tired or go some other day, in which he had tons of meetings bombarding him thereafter.

"I can go today . . . After work. Any other day and I'll be busy with meetings," Aoshi replied, after what seemed like an eternity to Kenshin.

"Sorry to have bothered you at work . . ."

"It's quite all right."

Just as soon as Aoshi placed the phone down, his office door opened. A distraught looking Kaoru stepped in and closed the door behind her.

"More disruptions? Who let you in here?"

"I asked for you and they let me in."

"There had to be more to it than that." Aoshi wasn't going to buy her little white lie.

"And I said I was one of your closest friends . . . I stated that you would be extremely thrilled to see me no matter what you might be doing at the moment, since we haven't seen each other for years . . . That about sums it all up . . ."

Aoshi would have sighed if it weren't for the raven-haired woman's wary expression looming over him. "Yes, Kaoru?"

Kaoru's eyes took a turn for the worse (so it seems). Her appearance became that of a hopeful person . . . "We are friends, aren't we?" Aoshi quirked an eyebrow at her, not responding to her question. "You said were are friends, right? Right, Aoshi?"

"I did."

". . . since we're friends I was wondering if you can give me some pointers."

"Pointers on what?"

**I'd rather have Aoshi live with us than you.**

**I hate you!**

'Come on, Kaoru, you can't give up now! I've made it this far and there's no turning back! I can definitely make this work!'

". . . can you give me some pointers on getting along," Kaoru fumbled with the words she wanted to say; she was feeling pretty embarrassed about this after all, "with Naoto and Ietsuna."

"I have no such pointers for that - you need to deal with this on your own, Kaoru," Aoshi told her. "You're an adult - these kids can't be too hard for you to handle."

Kaoru wasn't satisfied with what she just heard. "Ah . . . In that case, I am sorry for taking up any of your time. I'll be going then." However, there was nothing she could do about it no matter what she says to the icy man now. His mind was made up about the situation.

--

'Saitou said I was the best medicine for him. Okita is such a fool! Why is he torturing himself over me! He deserves so much better!'

"Are you okay, Seta? Did that man say something that upset you?" Nana asked.

"Nana, when did you get out here?" Soujirou asked, quite surprised by his sister's sudden presence.

"Just now. I saw everything; you looked angry when you were talking to that police man. He didn't threaten you, did he?"

"No, he didn't."

"Come on inside now. Mom said she's made us breakfast!"

"Breakfast . . . Right." Soujirou thought it was pretty rare to see his mother make a meal, let alone breakfast. However, he's been gone away from home for a really long time, so who was he to judge anything. Things and people can change over time, after all.

At the breakfast table Soujirou found that he wasn't very hungry at all, but it also made him feel bad that he didn't have the stomach and heart to eat his mother's cooking. He didn't notice it when his mother and sister exchanged worried glances - his mind was too occupied with other things.

"Seta, dear, are you not hungry this morning?" Mrs. Soujirou asked.

"I guess I'm not. But I feel as if all your hard-earned cooking and the food will go to waste if I don't eat it."

"It's not a problem; it's not like I cooked it," Mrs. Soujirou joked.

Soujirou cringed, thinking his mother was saying that in order to spite him. It made him feel twice as worse about not eating her cooking . . . Twice as worse . . . He didn't let it slip past him that several of the maids were shooting Mrs. Soujirou angry glares. He made a note to himself to apologize to them later on his mother's behalf. More so than not, if Soujirou wasn't mistaken, his mother was a lot more brutal with her words than back then. Things have changed . . . more or less.

"Since you're here," Nana started, "how long do you plan on staying before going back?"

"Back?"

"Yeah." Nana gave him a confused stare. "I thought you were dating Soushi, aren't you?"

"Don't worry about that, Nana." Changing gears, Soujirou faked being hurt by her comment. "And why did you ask when I was going back? You make it sound as if you can't wait until I leave!"

"I-I didn't mean it like that! It's just that," she looked to their mother for a moment, "you seem a little unhappy, is all."

"Oh. I didn't mean to worry you - I'm all right. Really, I am." Soujirou sweat dropped when his mother looked away, and his little sister rolled her eyes. "Look, I am fine. Anyway, aside from that, why is Aunt Shizu in the hospital?"

"Aunt Shzu said she wasn't feeling well," Nana replied.

"It's more serious than what you're making it out to be, aren't you, Nana?" Soujirou said more than asked.

". . . . . . ."

"Don't worry about her, Seta, because she'll be out of the hospital before you know it," Mrs. Soujirou intervened.

"I think I'll go visit her myself."

"Your father is coming home tomorrow, so there's no need to go."

"Is Aunt Shizu coming home with him as well?" Soujirou was looking at his mother expectantly.

"No, Seta."

Chapter 31: END


	32. Chp 32: Caged

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 32: Caged

By: LadyYuina

Haruna patiently waited for Kenji y the classroom door, as students filed pass her to get to their own respective classrooms. Her brown eyes soon caught sight of the brunette-haired boy, as he chatted with two other boys walking on either side of him. Kenji was squashed in the middle, much like a piece of meat and two slices of bread. Her mouth opened to call to him, yet she decided against it when she caught Kenji's gaze on her. As he walked past her, he merely glanced at her before stepping into the classroom.

'He could of at least said "good morning" or something of the sort . . .'

Kenji fiddled with his pencil while his teacher was lecturing to the class on Japanese history. He was currently on the topic of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Kenji found that he was having a hard time concentrating on what the teacher was talking about. Something was bothering him . . .

(Flashback)

"Kenji, did you hear?"

"Hear about what, Fusa?"

Fusa, who is one of his fellow male school friends, gave him an incredulous look. "You mean you actually haven't heard about it yet?"

"Man, Kenji, you need to be filled in!" Gihei, the other boy walking beside him exclaimed.

"What do I need to be filled in about?" Kenji looked from Gihei and then to Fusa.

"Haruna's been arranged to wed Okita Soushi! The Okitas' are one of the richest families in this area! I'd say that Haruna is really lucky, don't ya think?" Gihei nudged Kenji, wanting to get a response out of him.

'Haruna . . .'

(Flashback: END)

"Kenji, class is over. Quit spacing out," Kenji heard Haruna say to him.

"Huh? Oh . . . Whoops."

Haruna laughed and gathered up her belongings.

'. . . She seems to be okay. I wonder if even she herself knows about the marriage. It's hard to believe that she hasn't, since it's spread around the school like wildfire . .'

"Say, Kenji, do you like me?" Haruna asked sweetly, and this was thus . . . her first question of the day.

"Yeah. Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"

"That's good to hear. Thanks, Kenji."

"We are friends, after all. I'm gonna go, so see ya around."

"Kenji--"

"I'm in a bit of a hurry," Kenji lied.

Haruna watched him as he ran towards his two buddies, whom were waiting for him not too far away. She wondered why he made such a hasty retreat from her. If his intentions of doing so was for her own well-being and status, then she was going to be pissed off.

'He's heard about it . . . didn't he?'

(Flashback)

"Wow, Haruna, you're one lucky girl!" a girl exclaimed.

"I wouldn't mind marrying Soushi myself!"

"He's so handsome!"

"All this . . . It doesn't matter to me. I don't want to marry someone I don't know or love. It's not right and I refuse."

"Your father must be so happy though!"

(Flashback: END)

(Flashback)

"Haruna, what you're going to hear is going to be of some alarm, but it's going to be done."

"Father . . ."

"Okita Soushi, he's a well-respected member of the Okita family. It's in our best interest that you are wed off to someone that matches your status." Mr. Hagokichi looked at his daughter sternly when she kept shaking her head. "I've decided that you are to marry Soushi, since his father graciously offered his son to our family. It's a good opportunity to build family relations."

"This isn't fair!"

"Haruna, don't you dare say such things in front of me!"

"Without my consent, father! How--"

"Haruna!" She looked at her father fearfully - he didn't usually use this tone with her. "Whether you want an opinion about it, it will not matter! My word is absolute! I am the head of this household and you will do as I say!"

(Flashback: END)

--

Naoto hadn't expected things to turn out the way it did, when he had the talk with Aoshi. He hoped that the he'd side with him, yet instead, he sided with the annoying woman, Kaoru. Valid reasons were said although Naoto hated the fact that everyone was against him.

That afternoon when he came home from the hospital, he was irked to find Kaoru sitting at the kitchen table. She was sipping tea quietly when he walked in.

"Welcome back," she said, cheerfully.

"What are you doing here?" Naoto asked.

"Come on, Naoto, let's end this little feud between us. I simply want to get along with you."

(Flashback)

"You stupid little brat! Did you think I was going to forgive you that easily?"

"I didn't mean to . . . I--"

The only thing Naoto remembered feeling was a hard slap coming across his left cheek. He hadn't the time to recover from it when he felt himself being pushed to the floor. After that, blow after blow was dealt upon him. He could do little more, but cry out in panic and fear.

"You wretched child! No wonder your parents tossed you and Ietsuna away! You're so difficult to deal with that they didn't want you anymore! You're even worse than your brother!"

"Mommy, stop hitting--"

"Don't call me mommy, you little demon! Don't ever call me mommy again!" She slammed Naoto's head against the floor, making his ears ring. "Neither one of you! Don't ever call me by that word again!"

(Flashback: END)

"You're no different than her. You said something that hurt so much . . ."

Naoto felt like a caged bird trying to regain the freedom he once had. When he was around Kaoru he could see his freedom being stolen away. It was infuriating. The buried memory of the past kept repeating itself in his mind. At this point Kaoru and Tomoe were so meshed together that he couldn't distinguish the two.

"Naoto . . ."

"No! Leave me alone, Tomoe!"

'Tomoe?'

Naoto felt so deprived that he kneeled down and clawed at the wooden flooring before him. His hands were a bloody mess by the time Kenshin got to him. To Kaoru, it was the most horrifying thing she had to watch. No matter how much she wanted to move, the sight of the sky-blue-haired child glued her to her seat. She hadn't the will to move.

Naoto struggled to get free from his father's grasp. The feel of arms enclosed around him only made him feel more trapped. Freedom was slipping away from him so quickly; in his mind he could see himself being chained to the floor, while everyone else around him deserted him.

"Naoto! Calm down!" Kenshin shouted. He squeezed his son's mid-section, and the child doubled over in pain. He began to struggle all the harder, though. "Naoto, stop flailing!"

Ietsuna and Kenji were watching from the kitchen doorway, as Kenshin struggled to restrain Naoto. Ietsuna wanted to go help but Kenji stopped him. The brunette-haired boy knew that his father wanted to handle the situation on his own. If Ietsuna were to try to help, he might get hurt by the way Naoto was grappling and reaching for anything he could get his bloodied hands on.

"This is too much drama," Kenji breathed out. "Normalcy sounds like a foreign word in this house."

"Kenshin," Kaoru finally found the voice to speak, "I didn't mean to do this to him. He . . . He called me Tomoe and started to claw at the floor afterwards."

Kenshin hugged his son tightly within his arms as Naoto cried, ceasing his struggle because he was tired out.

"Naoto has lost all semblance of control . . ."

"Dad, I'll call the Okitas' to get Megumi to come and look at his hands," Kenji offered. Kenshin nodded without looking at him. "Come with me, Ietsuna."

Once they were well away from Kaoru and the others, Kenji asked Ietsuna critical questions.

"Ietsuna, why is Naoto so intent on saying Kaoru is just like Tomoe? Why won't he let go?"

"I can't . . ."

"This is important. Please tell me, Ietsuna."

"Naoto made me promise . . ."

"I'm begging you. For Naoto's sake . . ."

Ietsuna grew wide-eyed at the sigh of Kenji's face. He was crying - this was the first time that he's seen him cry.

"Naoto . . . He-he told me something that he didn't want me to tell anyone else. I promised not to tell anyone . . ." Ietsuna, too, started to cry, ". . . but I don't think I can keep it a secret anymore. Naoto told me that Tomoe paid our parents to throw us away. He said she adopted us, so that she cane get back at our parents."

"What does this all mean?"

"Naoto told me she said they cheated her. So as punishment she hurt Naoto. He wasn't her target - I was but Naoto insisted she take it out on him instead."

"But how does Kaoru tie up in all of this?" Kenji was beyond confused.

'It seems Tomoe has deeper ties with their parents than I thought . . . Why did she pay them to throw the kids out in the first place?'

"I don't know what's wrong with Naoto," Ietsuna truthfully answered.

'He's been traumatized.'

"You've been brave; thanks for telling me what you knew. Perhaps this may settle the matter . . ."

Kenji picked up the phone he left on the floor, when he walked out of the kitchen with Ietsuna. He dialed the Okitais number and asked for Megumi.

--

"His condition hasn't gotten any better?" Megumi asked.

"No. I think it's gotten worse," Toki said.

"Miss Megumi, someone is on the phone for you."

Megumi took the phone from the maid that handed it to her. Somewhat irritated, she said a lazy, "hello?"

"Megumi, your assistance is needed over here."

"Who is this that is calling?" Megumi asked.

"Kenji, Kenshin's eldest son. Naoto has injured himself, and we need you to come help him."

"I'll be all right over."

"Are you leaving?" Toki asked, worriedly. Megumi nodded. "But Okita needs tending to, you can't leave. Mr. and Mrs. Okita has turned a blind eye to it all - they can't help him. He refuses--"

"Toki, I've tried the best I can. The only person that can help him now is Soujirou. Okita is so love-stricken that he could even die from a broken heart, let alone starvation and sleep deprivation."

". . . . ."

--

"Kaoru, I'm surprised to see you here," Megumi said, when she saw Kaoru in the Himura residence. "I thought you'd be at your friend, Misao's/"

"No. I'm going to stay here for a while."

"Hurry, this way!" Ietsuna urged.

Megumi pursed her lips together at the sight of Naoto. Her dark-brown eyes looked him over in disapproval; she had yet another not-well-in-the-head person to deal with: man or child, it did not matter.

"You have a gray strand in your hair," Kenshin stated. "Are you stressing out as of late?"

"The life of a doctor, hospital or not takes it's toll on me . . . I'm pretty sure my friend, Hiko, has it worse, of course."

"I see."

"Things back at home are hectic, too. I fear for Okita's life; he's so thin and fragile that I'm afraid he'll collapse at any moment. Toki has been pressuring me lately. It makes me want to laugh, because she's treating him more like a son, compared to what his parents are bothering to do about this predicament. Even Saitou is concerned, but I'm sure Okita's parents will come around . . . Eventually."

"They're a wealthy family, so why not get him medical attention? Since what you've tried hasn't worked." Kenshin said.

"It's not physical pain that is destroying him. To him, it's more of the emotional variety." Megumi unrolled a package of bandages. "And what's the matter with your son?"

"Child abuse. I guess it's gone to his head."

"Child abuse?" Megumi was surprised the child was ever put through such treatment. "He seems like such a lively boy . . ."

"He's too mature for his age. I suppose this is what I get for not bothering to ask him about it . . . Holding it all in resulted in this effect."

From where Kaoru was standing, she could only pray that Naoto would be all right.

Chapter 32: END


	33. Chp 33: Time Will Tell

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 33: Time Will Tell

By: LadyYuina

"You look tired, Kenji," Gihei noted, with a devilish smirk coming to his lips. "What were you doing?"

"Nothing you'd want to know about," was the tired reply.

"You sly dog!" Fusa added.

"It's not like that, you idiots."

"By the way, did you know that Haruna's been asking for you?" Kenji shrugged. "That's not cool, why are you avoiding her, anyway?"

"That's none of your business, Gihei."

"Gihei, drop it. Mr. Cranky here doesn't want to hear it anymore. Why do you care that Haruna is looking for him?" Fusa asked.

"I don't, really; it's just that it's annoying when she asks me about Kenji. Literally though, she always comes to me . . . Why not ask you too, Fusa, you know?"

"No, thanks."

"Jerk."

"Guys," Gihei and Fusa looked at Kenji, "have you two ever thought of dying?"

"Dying?" they chorused. "Where did this question come from?"

"Have either of you ever felt that way?" They shook their heads. "Don't get the wrong ideas, I'm not saying I'm suicidal . . . It was merely a thought."

"You're creeping me out," Fusa said, worriedly.

"If there's something bothering you, you can tell us, Kenji," Gihei offered.

"Nah, nothing's wrong."

"Kenji, I've finally found you!" Haruna called out. Several girls who were around the area, watched as Haruna hurriedly approached Kenji. "I've been looking for you!"

"Do you need something?" Kenji asked.

"No, I just wanted to see you."

"Gihei," Kenji said, looking over at him. "Didn't you say that you had a new videogame you wanted to show us?"

"What game?" Kenji glared at him. "Oh . . . Oh, you mean that game. Yeah, I wanted to show you and Fusa. Come on over to my house after school."

"Can I come, too?" Haruna asked, looking from each boy to the other.

"It's a rather violent game, Haruna. I don't think you'd want to see it," Kenji informed her. "Well, come on guys, let's get going."

"Kenji, why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you . . . I'm just really busy. You know, clubs and all, stuff like that. Later."

'Haruna's marriage to Okita; Naoto's traumatized disposition; Kaoru's guilt-trip back to nightmare realm; and a stressed out Megumi. There is definitely too much drama . . . Haruna is one less issue that I'd like to avoid, if at all possible.'

"Dude, that seemed rather harsh back there. Haruna looked hurt; what's the matter with you, Kenji?" Gihei looked his friend in the eyes. "And I don't even have a new game to show you."

"I had to say something to get away," Kenji reasoned, staring right back at Gihei. "She's betrothed to Okita - I don't want talk spreading around the school about me and her. I know she likes me, but I think it's better to avoid her as much as possible for now."

"Poor Haruna, I wonder how she feels about all this?" Fusa voiced his thoughts.

"Who knows," Gihei and Kenji said in unison.

--

Yumi closed her computer browser. She had finally finished editing Magdaria's story. Now all she needed to do was to let Shishio publish it. Reading about the girl's life was interesting and depressing at the same time. Yumi found out many things about her that she hadn't know before; it was a great autobiography.

"I hope many copies will sell, so people will know how brave of a girl you were in life," Yumi said to herself.

She could remember one passage clearly that was stuck in her head.

_Sometimes, I wonder if I'm going to die the very next day. Sometimes . . . I feel as if the end is coming . . . As if God is coming to get me . . . To take me to Heaven. I know thinking such thoughts won't help me or my brother, Shougo. Still, I'm one out of the hundreds of people that live within this city, who worry about taking their last breath. Watching the clock tick, the minutes go by, only to become hours, the hours becomes days . . ._

_Today, while I was sitting by my bedroom window, I saw a small white bird fly across the sky. It circled around the air several times before flying away - if I think about it carefully, I could almost see it fly in a cross shape pattern. That was something I was never going to forget._

"Dated July eighteen . . . The day before you were omitted into the hospital," Yumi said.

--

"Soushi, you fool, stop going after someone that you cannot have! He's gone and never coming back! Stop hurting yourself!" Mr. Okita cried out in exasperated anger. "Your wedding day is coming nearer and nearer! In the condition that you are in, no one would want to marry you! You'll embarrass me in front of everyone!"

"I'm not marrying anyone other than Soujirou. Only him," Okita replied, ignoring everything his father had just told him.

"Do you think that'd be possible if you were to die? Do you think he'd be happy knowing that you died because of him?" Mrs. Okita countered. She was siding with her husband.

Okita shuddered in an intake of breath painfully. He was so depressed that he didn't think about the consequences of dying. His mother was right - of he dies, Soujirou would be said . . . Soujirou would perhaps hate him forever.

"Soushi, eat something . . . Sleep more than you are now," Mr. Okita ushered, his voice having gone down several octaves. "For Soujirou, get well for him."

"I want to see him. I'll become better if I can see him again."

Meanwhile,. Back at the Soujirous', Mrs. Soujirou picked up the phone when it rung. What she heard worried her - she hadn't know that that was the reason her son came home. And now that he was back, someone down there was suffering because of him.

"Seta, where are you!" she called outside, as she searched around the house. "Seta!"

"Mother, what's the matter?" Nana asked, popping her head out of the bathroom. She was draped in a bathroom robe, to say the least. "I heard you shouting for Seta. He's not home; he told me he went to visit Aunt Shizu."

At the hospital, Soujirou gingerly mingled around in the lobby until he saw his father approach him. His hair was disheveled-looking and his eyes were bloodshot. He was surprised to see Soujirou.

"Seta, you're here?" he asked.

"I came to see Aunt Shizu? How is she, by the way?"

"She's getting better."

"What's the matter with her?"

"She threw her back . . . You know what old age is like. Your bones are really fragile . . ."

"Can I go see her?" Soujirou looked to the receptionist. "The nurse wouldn't let me, so can you take me there if she allows it? Since you're already here."

" . . . sure, son."

Soujirou's Aunt was awake when he entered the room with his father. She smiled at the sight of her nephew, and beckoned him over to her side.

"Hello, there, Seta, how have you been? I haven't seen you for months!" she exclaimed.

"I'm fine. I should be the one asking you how you are doing," Soujirou told her.

Aunt Shizu laughed. "I've been worse, though I feel better now. It's good to see you."

"Same here."

"How was like with the Okitas' while you were there?" Aunt Shizu asked, smiling sweetly afterwards.

"It was wonderful; everyone was really nice to me and Suzume and Ayame have grown so much. If you could see them now, you'd still say they were the cutest little girls you have ever seen though." Soujirou's Aunt laughed. "I really do think you'll say that if you see them, Aunt Shizu."

"They sound like fun little girls, then, because cute girls are the most fun."

Aunt Shizu and Soujirou shared a laugh. Soujirou felt at ease, despite the fact that he was in a hospital. His Aunt was a very calm person, so he didn't have a hard time relaxing whenever he was around her.

"Oh, Bunta, didn't you say you were leaving today?" Aunt Shizu asked.

"Yes, I am. Ready to go, Seta?"

"O-okay."

Aunt Shizu waved goodbye, as her brother and nephew stepped foot out of her room. She was glad for her brother's support and her nephew's sudden appearance to come see her. They comforted her even if it was just for a little while. Small things usually were more lasting and memorable anyway.

--

Okita picked at the food that was presented to him; they were tasty at best, but it was just that he didn't have the will to eat much. At the lunch table both Toki and Saitou looked at him intensely. Toki placed medicine in his food, and yet Okita wasn't eating enough to allow the medicine to take affect.

"Okita, you look tired," Suzume suddenly said.

"How come you aren't eating your vegeables?" Ayame asked.

"Ayame, it's vegetables," Toki politely corrected her. "And do make sure you eat all of yours." Suzume sniggered. "You too, Suzume."

"I'm done. Thank you for the meal." Okita stood up to leave.

"You hardly ate anything on your plate," Mrs. Okita mentioned. "At . . . At least eat all of your vegetables."

"I'm not very hungry, mother. Excuse me, everyone."

"What's wrong with Okita? He looks so skinny," Ayame said.

"Is he sick?" Suzume added.

All the adults remained silent and exchanged glances amongst themselves. Suzume and Ayame frowned and shrugged. Just then the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get it!" Suzume said, before her sister could.

"I'll get it! You're too short to reach the handle, Suzume!" Ayame chased after her smaller sibling down the hallway.

"Well, now," Saitou chimed, "I wonder who that could be?" Everyone looked at him quizzically. "Come over here, Soujirou."

"How did you know it was me?" Soujirou stepped into the kitchen.

"Soujirou!" everyone chorused.

"Soujirou is here! Soujirou is here!" Ayame and Suzume chortled.

"Hi, guys," Soujirou meekly greeted, feeling rather small by the way everyone was stating at him.

Mr. and Mrs. Okita stood up immediately. They pulled him by an arm and dragged him towards Okita's room. Opening the bedroom door, they pushed him in and closed the door behind him. His eyes met with Okita's at that moment, and as they stared at one another Okita's expression went from sad to hysteria-like happiness. Soujirou didn't know what to expect at this point.

"Sou-chan, you've finally come back," Okita whispered.

"Yeah, I've returned," Soujirou said, uncomfortably at best. "You . . . You don't look so well - have you been taking care of yourself?"

"Come here . . . Please?" Okita asked. He was snagged into Okita's weak embrace when he went to him. Soujirou was quite surprised by the sudden change in position. "I've missed you so much, Soujirou. I'm so glad that you're back here with me."

"You're so thin . . ." Soujirou wanted to look at his lover in the eyes, but he found that he couldn't. "Why have you done this to yourself?"

"Stay with me, Sou-chan. I need you," Okita pleaded.

**I think you're the only medicine he'll ever need.**

'I've heard about his condition, and yet I chose to ignore it till now. I'm so sorry, Saitou, I should have come sooner.'

"I'll be right here. Promise me you'll get better, okay?" Okita nodded. "I can't believe you went this far . . . I'm here for you now so there isn't anything to worry about. Simply think of getting well."

"Do you still love me?"

"Yes, I still do."

"That's good to hear. I'm relieved."

--

Kaoru quietly talked to Kenshin, while Kenji and Ietsuna watched Megumi tend to Naoto's hands. They were healing nicely, but Naoto was not. His mental state had all but been destroyed.

"Is he ever going back to normal?" Ietsuna asked.

"I don't really know. He's unresponsive to everything," Megumi said. "Only time will tell what's going to become of him. I even suggest that he gets treated at a hospital."

"Naoto can stay here," Ietsuna defended, "he's fine where he is."

"Ietsuna--"

"I'll make him come back. I'll make him laugh again. I'll make him be normal. I'll do it all," Ietsuna declared through gritted teeth.

"I'll help too, Ietsuna. Big brother will help, too," Kenji added.

Chapter 33: END


	34. Chp 34: Tension

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 34: Tension

By: LadyYuina

A week has gone by and Okita was already looking much better. He seemed more lively and plump, now that Soujirou was around. Little did Okita know that Soujirou couldn't stay with him for long, because Okita was going to be wed to Haruna soon.

"Soujirou, let's stay over here under this tree. Our tree," Okita beckoned.

"You scare me sometimes," Soujirou suddenly said, as he sat down beside the other man. "I mean . . . your obsession with me scares me."

"I don't want to scare you . . . I don't mean to."

"If you don't want to scare me, then I want you to marry the girl your father has chosen for you. I won't be scared anymore if you could at least do that."

"I don't want to marry her, because I don't love her." Soujirou sighed and leaned back against the trunk of the tree they were beneath. Okita looked at him worriedly. "It makes me wonder, Soujirou, if you're trying to get rid of me."

Without looking at the other man, Soujirou replied, "that's not it."

"Then what are you trying to do exactly?"

"There are a lot of other reasons. You know them just as well as I do. Your family na--"

"You always bring this up. It makes me hate myself even more when you say that. I wish I wasn't born as an Okita."

(Flashback)

"Soujirou, come over here for a moment. I'd like to have a word with you."

"Certainly, Mr. Okita."

Soujirou followed him out into a secluded room. A maid came in briefly to serve them green tea and then she was gone.

"About Soushi's marriage," Mr. Okita paused to take a single sip of tea, "I'm not going to cancel it. You understand, yes?" Soujirou nodded. "Soushi is recovering splendidly all thanks to you, but there's a favor I'd like to ask of you."

"Go on."

"Persuade Soushi to accept the marriage. Do whatever it takes to make him marry into the Hagokichi family; this is very important to his mother and I. We only want what's best for our son. You see, I'm growing old and a heir to the Okita's fortune can be passed to my eldest son, Saitou, but I'm afraid they won't have any heirs after him and Soushi. Soushi has yet to produce a son and if he marries a man he'll never be able to have children of his own."

"I understand, Mr. Okita. I will try my best."

(Flashback: END)

"You should be proud of who you are. I . . . I'm glad that I'm a Soujirou."

"Your life isn't as fucked up as mine, that's why," Okita countered.

"Stop being so childish!"

"You're the one that needs to stop pretending, Sou-chan! I know it's hurting you inside that I suffer like this! You know that I'll be even more unhappy if I have to leave you!"

"You selfish bastard . . .!"

"Thank you." Okita smugly accepted the remark. "I'm not going to deny what I am. I control my own destiny, not my family. Just me."

--

Kaoru strolled back and forth on the pavement in the backyard. She'd seen the way Naoto looked at her; she knew that he was afraid. What was best to do at this point was to leave the Himura residence, but Kenshin insisted that she stay. The longer she remained here it appeared like the more tense the sky-blue-haired child became around her. This couldn't continue on forever - something had to be done.

She stopped short in her silent tirade when she caught sight of Naoto watching her from the living room window.

'Why does he look at me that way?'

What happened next surprised her. Naoto had come inside as well, and he opened the glass door and slid it shut behind him.

"Hi," he said tentatively, carefully.

"Hi, Naoto," Kaoru replied.

'Is he all right now?'

"I . . ." Kaoru watched as Naoto tried to pick his words carefully, ". . . I mean . . . I feel trapped when I am around you. This feeling . . . I want it all to go away."

"I don't know how to help you."

Naoto sat down on the pavement and intently stared at the ground. It made Kaoru wonder what he was trying to do. He then laid flat against the pavement, as he started to tremble - a drop of water fell onto the cement ground. It came from Naoto's eyes.

"I feel so trapped!" he suddenly cried out.

"Naoto . . ." Kaoru stepped forward.

"Don't come near me! I'll slit your throat if you even come near me again, Tomoe!"

"Naoto! Listen to me! I'm not her; listen to my voice." Kaoru tried to reason with him. No, she had to. "Don't . . . don't let whatever happened to you in the past haunt you!"

"You said my mommy and daddy tossed me away! Tomoe, you've hurt me so much! I felt like dying! I want to die! I want to die!"

His shouting was silenced when Kaoru clamped a hand over his mouth. She was going to take this matter into her own hands - it was her turn to try and make things right.

"Listen to my voice, Naoto, I am not Tomoe. I do not sound like her; I do not look like her; and least of all . . . I do not act like her." Naoto struggled under her lightly clamped arm around his body and over his mouth. "Naoto, stop this madness . . . You'll never get better if you let her continue to haunt you. She's no longer here, and you're not trapped. You can be as free as you want; no one's going to stop you."

'You can be as free as you want; no one's going to stop you.'

Those words echoed around inside his head. The sense of freedom wasn't far from his reach at all. It came down to the fact that he didn't know how to reach for it no matter how close he was. His arms constantly felt chained down to an invisible floor, a floor that couldn't let him escape.

'You can be as free as you want; no one's going to stop you.'

He stopped struggling around and evened his breathing. Tears had already run their course down his flushed cheeks, almost making them looked like a overused map of trails and sorts. Kaoru lifted her and away from his mouth and simply held him within her embrace.

"You're free, Naoto, believe it."

(Flashback)

"I'm glad you could come, Aoshi," Naoto beamed.

"How are you feeling?" was the automatic reply.

"I'm doing better."

"That's good."

"I wanted to thank you for saving me back there. If it weren't for you I think I wouldn't be sitting here breathing right now."

"I did what I must, Naoto. I happened upon your brother by chance. You could say I nearly ran him over - he's quite reckless."

"Reckless, huh?"

"Is something the matter?"

Naoto shook his head. "The real reason I asked you to come here was because of Kaoru." He looked at Aoshi for a moment, and when he said nothing, he continued. "She really likes my daddy. I can see that she makes him happy, but . . . She reminds me of her too much. Sometimes, I feel trapped around her. What should I do?"

"Comparing someone like her to Tomoe is quite unbelievable. They aren't alike at all, Naoto."

"They aren't?"

"No, they aren't. Kaoru, by nature, is more of an intense person, and she's also somewhat narrow-minded. She doesn't hesitate to do something that she thinks is right. Sometimes, she even fires off her mouth without thinking things through. I've known her since high school so I know what I'm talking about. As for Tomoe, I've met her on several occasions through your father when they were still a couple."

(Flashback: END)

Something inside Naoto burst forth then. The heavy, oppressive feeling he was once tuned to broke away - the chains that bounded him down were gone. The enclosure he felt no longer suffocated him; Tomoe's words disappeared into the afternoon sky.

'Kaoru isn't like her . . . She never was and never will be.'

"Kaoru, is that you?"

Naoto reached up a hand without looking behind him. He felt someone else's come in contact with his own.

"Yes, it's me."

" . . . I'm sorry."

"I should be the one apologizing. I've made you suffer."

"I'm . . . I'm fine now. I want to make this work. I want all of us to be happy."

"Me, too, Naoto, me too."

--

"Play with more emotion. More feeling," Ms. Mio reprimanded.

"I'm sorry. Let me start over."

"Is something bothering you?" Ms. Mio asked. "You seem too distracted tonight, perhaps I should call it off."

"No, don't! I can still play!" Haruna nearly cried. "Give me another chance; you said I was your top student! I know I can do the recital!"

"Haruna, it's not just about skills. You need to put your emotions into it too. I don't know what's bothering you, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to find someone else." Ms. Mio actually looked crestfallen. "I could get Yuriko to do it."

"Let me. Please." Haruna was to the point of begging. Her large brown eyes sparkled with determination. "I've been waiting for the chance to do this; don't turn me away, Ms. Mio. I promise I will practice more and try harder."

"Haruna, you needn't worry about the recital anymore. I've decided that Yuriko will do it - she was the backup, in case something came up."

"Ms. Mio, I'll tell you what's bothering me. In telling you I hope you'll give me sympathy. That's a pathetic way to go about things, but I really want to do this." Ms. Mio sighed, and shook her head. "What's bothering me is that I have to get married to someone whom I don't love. I can't do anything about it, you see? Japan's society is not the way it should be, and my parents need to get up caught up to the modern times . . . To the world of today and now."

"That's still not going to change my mind. Your family problems are not mine, Haruna. The lesson is over."

"But--"

"It's over, Haruna, I'm sorry."

--

Kenshin hugged Naoto to himself when the child came to him. It was well past midnight as Naoto entered his room and asked if he could moon gaze with him. Kenshin obliged, due to the hardships his son has gone through. He did have to work the next morning, but losing sleep wouldn't amount to the precious time he would be able to spend with his beloved son.

"Remember when we first did this?" Naoto asked and Kenshin nodded in response. "Ietsuna was with us, too, I think."

"Yeah, he was."

"The moon looks brighter tonight than any other night I've looked at it. My eyes aren't blind to anything around me anymore."

"You sound like a old man," Kenshin teased.

"I don't mind."

"Naoto," Kenshin could see his son bowing his head (in shame, maybe?), "you know that if you ever feel scared, lonely . . . Anything at all, that you can tell me. There's no need to hold it in and let it burst out violently. There's Kenji, Ietsuna, me, Kaoru even, that you can talk to."

"I know that. It's sometimes I find it harder to tell you things than to just keep it to myself."

". . . You really scared me back there. On the day you clawed the floor - you scared me so badly."

"My nails haven't grown out normally yet," Naoto noted, taking a look at his fingers.

"Kaoru told me you called her Tomoe . . . Did she hurt you in a way that you aren't telling me?"

"No."

"There's no reason for you to lie, Naoto." The boy shrugged. "Just tell me what she did."

"If I keep it in, no one else will get hurt."

"You're wrong. If you keep it in you're going to hurt the people around you and yourself. During the time of your unresponsiveness, Kenji and Ietsuna tried to bring you back. They talked to you, tried to play with you, read, joke, and laugh with you."

"I didn't know," Naoto replied.

"Did they succeed in the long run?"

Naoto gazed up at the moon and smiled thoughtfully. "No. Kaoru helped me."

Chapter 34: END


	35. Chp 35: Wedding Day

Disclaimer: I do not own the RK characters. They all belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

A/N: Long author's note at the very end. Didn't want to put it here.

Drive Me Crazy

Chapter 35: Wedding Day

By: LadyYuina

"Oh, wow, Magdaria's autobiography has been published, after all," Misao said, as she picked up a copy. "I'm going to buy one - what about you, Kaoru?"

"I'll get one, too."

At the checkout Misao couldn't help asking the cashier out of curiosity.

"Hey, Mister, did a lot of these books sell so far since it's release date?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I don't think it's doing very well here."

"Oh."

"Hurry and purchase them, Misao, my cousin's wedding is tomorrow. I still need to go shopping for a dress."

"Okay, okay. You're so anxious to leave, aren't you?"

"What do you expect me to be like when the wedding is tomorrow. And I have no dress to wear! You're coming, too, by the way!"

"You're deciding for me?"

"Damn right. Now come on!" Kaoru yanked her friend by the hand and dashed out of the store. Misao was disappointed that Kaoru thought so very little for their deceased friend. However, constantly thinking about her wasn't going to allow Misao to move on, if that were the case . . .

--

Gihei and Fusa laughed as Kenji joked with them during lunch break. Kenji swung his arms out wide, as he described a huge building that looked like a giant watermelon. Gihei and Fusa laughed some more, fueling him on. He swung his arms out again and his right arm came into contact with something.

"Haruna!" Gihei and Fusa called out in unison.

"Haruna?" Kenji echoed, turning around and indeed seeing her lying on the grass, clutching at her nose. "Haruna, what were you doing coming up behind me?"

"I didn't think you'd swing your arms out like that when I was coming up to you," she said, defensively. "Owwww, my nose really hurts all thanks to you."

"Let me see," Kenji said, as he kneeled down beside her. "You're bleeding; here."

He handed her a handkerchief from his pocket, and instructed her to hold her head up as he held the cloth in place.

"Kenji, you really did her in. That blow to her face looked really hard," Fusa told him. "Maybe she should go to the school nurse."

"I'm fine," Haruna spoke up. "It's not a big deal."

"You sure?" Kenji asked. "I think Fusa's right."

"Well, sorry to have bothered you all. I think I'll excuse myself now . . ."

Several students who were walking by look at the four students curiously. Haruna stalked off towards the school building, an annoyed look coming to her features. The three boys exchanged glances and then looked around uncomfortably.

"You guys are such idiots!" Gihei and Fusa blinked at each other several times. "You could have told me she was coming up behind me! It's not like I have eyes on the back of my head!"

"We were laughing too hard to notice," Fusa replied.

"Well . . . Whatever."

"Geez, you've been rather edgy lately, Kenji. You've been ignoring Haruna and now you're yelling at us?" Kenji simply rolled his eyes and that earned him a frown from Fusa. "And the other day you were talking about dying."

"I didn't really mean anything by that . . . It was just a thought."

"Well, no one simply says: have you two ever thought of dying?, to their friends just for the heck of it. You're hiding something from us, aren't you?"

"Fusa, you're thinking too much. Chill, man," Kenji said. "I already told you that it was merely a thought, and there's no motive behind these words. If you see me dead one day due to suicide, then you'll know, won't you now?"

"We wouldn't want that to happen," Gihei spoke, having remained quiet for the majority of the conversation. "Unlike Fusa, I'd rather avoid this subject. I'm sure you'll do the right thing, Kenji. If you ever have anything that you need to let out, then come to me. I'll be more than happy to help."

--

"I didn't know there was a wedding tomorrow." Ietsuna peered over his father's shoulder, looking at the red sheet of fashionably decorated paper. "Who's getting married?"

"It says we have been cordially invited to the wedding of 'Okita Soushi' and Hagokichi Haruna'."

"Cordilly?" Ietsuna asked.

"Cordially, and it's a word you use on occasion such as this, Ietsuna," Kenshin explained. "A much fancier way of saying that you have been invited to attend an event, with much gratitude that you show up."

"What's gratitude?"

"Means you're thankful."

"Ooohhhhh."

The front door opened and closed. "I'm home!" A few moments later Kenji appeared in the living room, looking a bit drained of energy. "What are you two looking at?"

"A wedding party!" Ietsuna chirped, before Kenshin could say anything.

"It's tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Kenji was surprised that they were given such short notice. "Didn't you just receive the invitation today?"

"Yeah. Quite unusual for an invitation to get passed out the day before it happens," Kenshin pondered.

"Well . . . Where's Naoto?"

"He's in his room."

Kenji walked past his father and brother, as he headed towards Naoto's room. When he tried to turn the knob he noticed that it was locked. Just as he was about to knock the door opened - the blue-eyed boy looked up at him. Kenji peered behind him and then down at Naoto.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Sure."

"Whoa, what's up with all the cage drawings?" Kenji scanned around the room to see several drawn pictures of bird cages, jail cells, and any type of cage you can think of. They were all pinned up on the walls here and there. "Are you feeling . . . You know?"

"No. Drawing these has made me feel more free. When I look at them I can see that I'm not the one standing in them." Kenji titled his head slightly to the right in puzzlement. "I guess it sounds strange, but this helps me."

"As long as you don't go nuts again, then I'm cool with it."

Naoto laughed.

--

Haruna breathed in and out nervously - today was the wedding day. She was only fifteen. But her parents had already decided that she was to wed now. She was pretty sure, too, that there might have been some issues about financial gains, although her parents weren't going to admit to it. Besides, it was the Okitas' that offered their son to the Hagokichis'.

"Stand up straight, Haruna," her stylist instructed. "The obi is rather difficult to put on, so don't move so much."

"Okay."

The poor girl was having second thoughts about the wedding. She had never seen her soon-to-be-husband before, and it scared her at how he might look and act like. The descriptions alone weren't enough; words couldn't really do anyone justice until you actually see the person.

Haruna bit her lower lip and as she tried not to squeak out in slight pain. The stylist noticed this though.

"Was that too tight?" she asked.

"A-a little, but I'm all right," Haruna lied.

"Are you nervous?"

"I'm so nervous that I think I'm going to wet myself!" The stylist laughed while Haruna rolled her eyes. "I'm just really happy . . . I suppose."

'Yeah, right. Haruna, you need to stop lying to yourself! This isn't going to help anyone!'

With one final tug to the obi, the stylist shouted out, "done!"

Haruna dared herself to look into the mirror presented to her, when her stylist pushed one in front of her. She looked really elegant in the white layers of the wedding kimono. A small smile graced her lips - this was her destiny and she knew she wouldn't be able to escape alone. Bringing shame to her family was the last thing she wanted to do. Thinking that perhaps in time she could fall in love with the man she was to wed, made her feel a little better. It was always a possibility.

On the Okita's side, Okita was furious that he had to marry a child . . . It was even worse than marrying a woman that he wouldn't love. Soujirou stood beside his former lover as Okita angrily lashed out at his parents with bitter, shameful words.

"Soushi, listen--"

"Don't you start that trifling bullshit with me, dad," Okita cut him cleanly off. "You arranged for me to wed someone behind my back! The least you could have done was to tell me ahead of time!"

"Look here, Soushi, it wasn't my idea to get you a wife this soon," his father retorted. "It's been in the back of my mind but as situations stand, it was your precious Soujirou who asked me to find you someone!"

"Soujirou?" Okita turns towards the man beside him, looking at him in disbelief. "You . . . You were the one who asked for this?"

"Yes," Soujirou bowed his head in shame. "I did ask your father for this favor. I did it because I knew this was the best . . ."

"Are you saying you know what's best for me?" Okita asked, in a furious accusatory tone. Soujirou could do nothing else but nod. What happened next was so quick that the brunette-haired man didn't know that Okita has pinned him to the floor. It wasn't until Okita was shouting in his face, did he finally realize his predicament. "If you know what's best for me, then you should know what I want is right in front of me! Right here! Right now!"

'The promise . . .'

"I . . . I promised your father."

"Forget the stupid promise!"

"Soushi!" Mrs. Okita cried. "Don't do this!"

Soujirou remembered well. Mrs. Okita was really supportive and nice to him a few months back, when Okita first declared his will to wed back then. It was thanks to her that he wasn't driven out of the Okita residence. Now, however, she seemed to only want all this family feuding to stop, although it seemed like she was leaning towards the side of her husband. Soujirou didn't blame her - it was really better if Okita married a woman anyway.

Just then someone peeked in from the doorway and asked, "are you all about ready? The guests are already arriving and taking their seats."

"Almost," Mr. Okita replied, rather uncomfortably. He was glad that the person who glanced in did not see his son pinning Soujirou to the floor. "We'll be out there shortly; thank you for the notice."

"You're welcome."

Outside where the wedding was to be held people who were invited took their seats among the many chairs that were provided. Some were surprised this whole event could be arranged in one single day. Saitou was seen standing by the altar, dressed in formal Japanese robes as he patiently waited, arms clasped behind his back. It was his turn to do this for his brother, because when he got married, it was Okita who had been in his shoes right at the moment. He scanned around the crowd, spotting Kenshin, his kids, Kaoru, Sanosuke, Misao, and Aoshi sitting together. His partner, Enishi, whom is in the police force, was sitting by himself. His wife and kids were sitting a few rows just behind Enishi. Yumi and Shishio were sitting right across from Enishi on the opposite side.

'Wow, such a big crowd. Other than those people there's no one else I recognize.'

All the chattering ceased when the traditional wedding gongs could be heard. Stepping down the middle of the isle was the groom, who was followed closely behind by the bride, her face veiled by a long cloth.

'At least he's keeping a straight face.'

Saitou sighed in relief. Underneath the mask his brother created, he could see in Okita's eyes that he was really angry. Luckily, little to few people noticed the oppressive aura the man was omitting.

Haruna shyly looked at the man in front of her through the white colored veil. She was seeing him for the first time, even though it was only his backside at the moment. From the looks of it she could say he was a good foot and a half taller than her. Much to Haruna's relief, Okita was neither ugly to look at or fat in appearance when she was finally standing side by side with him - she was peeking at him from the corner of her eye, because it was considered rude to look at him directly during this part of the ceremony until asked to do so. However, there was no other guy that was more attractive than Kenji. She was completely devoted to him, and him alone.

'Okay . . . I can do this! I can definitely learn to love him . . .!'

'She's merely a child. I refuse to marry her . . . She looks no older than Kenji's age. Does the age difference not disgust anyone else besides me?'

"Hold it," Okita interrupted. "I refuse to marry her." Gasps errutped from the crowd, even Kenshin and the others were confused by Okita's sudden demand. "I don't love her; I don't know her; I want nothing to do with her. Does her age and mine not bother anyone?"

Haruna actually laughed at those words. She removed her veil and looked at Okita in the eyes. She felt the same way he did although she would have never had the courage to say it out loud, much like he did. She bowed politely and stepped off the altar, as she walked away. Everyone watched as she did so - her eyes briefly locked with Kenji's when she came by his row.

"See, Soujirou, I'll remain faithful to you. Always."

The End…

A/N: First off, I'd like to thank everyone who's read this fic to the end, even though I'm not sure how many people actually read to the last chapter. I appreciate it nonetheless! If it weren't for the people still reading this, then I would have not bothered to type up the entire story, even though I have all of it on paper. I've written this fic two years ago, and I'll say that I am not proud of my writing. In fact, I don't like this story, believe it or not. I don't loathe it to the extreme, but neither can I say 'I like it . . .'

And another thing, I don't know the rules or events that take place during a traditional Japanese wedding, and forgive me for not looking up the info because I was too damn lazy. My heart and soul was not completely devoted to this piece of work, and for those who've added this to their favorites . . . I am flattered you like it! XD I feel honored, really. **Sakura **complained about my portrayal of Kaoru, and I don't really care. I don't hate her or Tomoe (as you readers can see I've placed them in a somewhat negative light). For me, it's not the matter of hating or liking; like, for example, if I didn't like Shishio from RK, it doesn't mean I would always write him as a 'bad' character whenever I would use him. Well, I think I'll stop now. It's been a long trip for me, and I am glad to see one not-so-good fic finished. Again, thank you very much to those who've read this till the end! Peace . . .


End file.
